Mortgages

While a majority of current forborne borrowers sought relief for reasons related to COVID-19, servicers are seeing a growing share of cases involving natural disasters or personal financial issues, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

While the share is slightly lower than at the start of 2023, the market is not expected to slip back to lower pre-pandemic levels, CoreLogic said.

Lenders reported a net loss of $534 on each loan they originated in the last quarter, an improvement from the $1,972 loss per loan the quarter prior.

The average for a 30-year home loan marked the fourth straight week of increases, according to Freddie Mac.

But overall volume is still expected to be 38% lower than 2022's commercial real estate originations, as higher interest rates remain a drag.

Industry executives coming off a tough year are wondering what the transition will cost and how many borrowers it'll bring in.

UBS Group AG agreed to pay $1.44 billion to settle a case with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding how it handled residential mortgage-backed securities. 

With prices continuing to increase and the conforming 30-year mortgage rising above 7% in July, the purchase market is in a holding pattern, Black Knight said.

A shortage of listings has pushed up prices, boosting the total value of US homes to a record $47 trillion, Redfin reported. 

Repossessions registered both monthly and annual increases, though, according to Attom.

But its operating income missed estimates with servicing income and gain-on-sale margins coming in lower than expected.

Product availability for July remained at levels last seen in 2013 as rates briefly broke above the 7% mark during the month, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The new technology expands the capabilities of automation used to obtain digital transcript information from self-employed borrowers.

The turnaround was due to a $42 million positive servicing mark. Even with the operating loss, it beat estimates.

But a Zillow economist argues that there's plenty of evidence suggesting strong GDP and job growth had more to do with the increase than what Fitch did.

The mortgage company was able to move a lot closer to its goal to become a $1 trillion servicer with the expiration of the final tender offer and closing of the deal.

But mortgage numbers remain historically very low and fall short of pre-pandemic levels, according to VantageScore's latest monthly report.

Consumer advocates are protesting specific risk-weighting changes affecting borrowers with lower down payments. Also, a broader increase in requirements may discourage depository holdings of servicing.

All of the company's fair value gains in its portfolio during the quarter were wiped out by a larger loss from hedging activities.

There's divergence of opinions between one more rate hike this cycle and no further actions.