Mortgages

The decline in non-owner occupied acquisitions came as sales fell overall due to high mortgage rates and bad winter weather in the Northeast, BatchData said.

All the loans are interest-only during both their initial and extension terms, but third-party secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) cap agreements provide interest rate protection.

Rithm and UWM Holdings are the favorite names among publicly traded lenders, while BTIG adds coverage of Better Home & Finance at a buy rating.

The government-sponsored enterprise has provided language that servicers may utilize in situations involving temporary interest-rate buydowns.

For the fifth time in the past seven weeks, mortgage rates moved higher, Freddie Mac reported, as consumer prices keep rising due to the Iran conflict.

Over three-quarters of the Wolters Kluwer Blue Chip Economic Indicators panel said the FOMC will ease eventually, but a growing number are now expecting a hike.

Approximately 54% of homeowners looked to a second lien product to access their home's stored value in the first quarter due to the "lock-in effect."

The announcement follows a leave of absence in which Ginnie Mae President Joe Gormley helped cover the Federal Housing Admission Commissioner's responsibilities.

More than half of consumers worry about money daily, despite improved budgeting habits and, according to a Ramsey Solutions survey, declining mortgage concerns.

Analysts said Bill Pulte's new additional role as spy chief will further delay GSE privatization efforts, although that could change if he formally departed.

The retained portfolios' latest record monthly number puts Fannie Mae in front while Freddie Mac has held onto a lead in quarterly single-family loan purchases.

Beyond developments in the Middle East, a big focus will be Friday's release of monthly employment figures, which are projected to show the labor market remained resilient in May.

Market wonderment over inflation data and a possible halt to the Iran conflict resulted in what some trackers found to be a sideways week for mortgage rates.

Certain private-label securities may get a lower risk weighting for bank capital and separately, second liens have new uniform guidelines for TRID.

The latest acquisition activity points to the importance of decisions lenders make regarding their MSRs in 2026 and some considerations unique to each company.

Lenders at the MBA conference say non-agency is more than just non-QM — and those still treating it as a niche product are falling behind as it becomes a core part of the business.

The delay preserves a lifeline for competing bidder United Wholesale Mortgage, which previously reached an agreement to acquire the servicer last year.

Department of Housing and Urban Development officials indicated that there are improvements in some delinquency stages and cure rates are better than expected.

Secondary market experts are split on whether the Fed's next move will be a rate decrease in 2027 or an increase, as more observers are now thinking.

Standard & Poor's found modeled foreclosure frequency and loss coverage to be in similar ranges as classic FICO but showed concern about potential bias.