While the market digests the acquisition of Flagstar by NY Community Bancorp by the end of 2021, and talk of more deals in the works, in previous generations a “pension” from a company was a big deal, something that could make or break a job offer. Although retirement pensions have gradually been replaced by 401(k)’s, earn-outs, or social security, with an aging population it is good to know that pension payouts are not taxed in 14 states! Like it or not, the government with its taxes is in our lives, more and more in 2021. Do you know anyone who is “socially disadvantaged?” Well, it appears that down payment assistance is on its way to them! Government isn’t the only one in our lives. Want to know what it is like to live in a particular neighborhood? Trulia is there for you to tell you about street noise, safety, and friendliness. What does Trulia know about friendliness? Trulia Neighborhoods is a database of crowd-sourced local knowledge, original photography, and drone footage. While’s we on technology, the audio version of today’s commentary is available here and is sponsored by Capacity, a mortgage automation platform that works in parallel with your LOS to support your borrowers and staff. Today’s features an interview with the MBA’s VP of Industry Analysis Marina Walsh on 2020’s performance, the MBA’s advocacy, and lender results.

Lender and Broker Services and Products

What can lenders expect from RM Automate? Intelligent Automation is changing the way lenders do business, and not just for the biggest firms: Nearly any size firm can implement this game-changing technology to drive down costs, increase accuracy, reduce fraud, and improve cycle times. More than just robotic process automation (RPA), or a spot solution designed to address one specific use case, intelligent automation leverages artificial intelligence and advanced decisioning to allow companies to completely reimagine the entire loan manufacturing process. This frees up your employees to deal with more complex, challenging, and revenue-generating tasks. As technology transforms the business, don’t get left behind. Contact us to schedule a demo today of Richey May’s intelligent automation platform and see how mortgage leaders like yourself can get ahead.

Shazam!  Did you know you can turn your Encompass LOS into a printer/mailer and automagically send out real letters through the US Postal Service? Yep, with the help of Connector by Velma® Encompass will send one-off goodbye letters, insurance transfer notifications, statements, and more…at exactly the right time with the right information.  More info here.

Enjoy 2 Business Day Priority Purchase Underwriting and a (.250) LLPA incentive for all Conventional, VA, and FHA purchases with the Freedom Mortgage Wholesale Division’s Big Spring Purchase Tee Off! Offer a hole in one experience with every new Conventional, VA, and FHA purchase! Plus, offer more buying power for your Jumbo VA borrowers with no maximum loan amount and no down payment for eligible* VA borrowers. To learn more, check out our rate sheet or email AskFreedom@FreedomWholesale.com to have an AE contact you. (*Subject to credit approval, requires full entitlement; for purchases and cash-out refinances only and not applicable for loan amounts<= $144,000. For IRRRLs, VA will continue to guaranty 25% of the loan amount without regard to the Veteran’s available entitlement and/or county loan limits.)

Events and Training into Early May

Training and events are good things, whether they are in person, like the almost-full-already May 10-12’s MBA Georgia Annual Conference, or on a Zoom call. Who’s doing what?

Believe it or not, there are some LOs who have never worked in a primarily purchase market. Meanwhile, some of us have been in the industry since we had to walk 5 miles uphill in the snow (both ways!) just to take an application. With the MBA predicting that the average rate on a 30-year fixed loan will be 3.6% and the unemployment rate expected to drop to 4.7% by the end of 2021, the 2021 purchase market will be stronger than 2020’s. Which means lenders will need to transition their focus from refi to purchase. But what exactly does that mean, and how should lenders do so? Join me, the MBA’s Michael Fratantoni and Sales Boomerang’s Alex Kutsishin on April 27 at 2 p.m. ET to find out.

Join two of the industry’s Credit-Ready experts, as they talk about the importance of this strategy, the technology, how relatively easy it is to implement and the benefits it delivers for lenders and borrowers alike. Help your borrowers understand their credit situation the first time you meet them. Show them how a few analytics-based actions that they can take put them in a better position to qualify for the best possible financing. Engage with your borrowers on their Credit-Readiness throughout the mortgage process. Register for “Credit-Ready Borrowers Close Faster!” webinar here.

Registration is now open for the second annual virtual Mortgage Industry Pandemic Summit (MIPS 2.0) hosted by Altisource® in partnership with Five Star, MBA, HousingWire and IMN. It is now one year later since the first MIP Summit, and the mortgage industry continues to undergo numerous changes, some good and some bad.  Now, as vaccinations continue to be rolled out and moratoriums come to a close, this summit will address what this will mean for the industry over the coming year. The second annual full-day virtual event will be held on May 6, 2021 and feature numerous insightful sessions and panels addressing the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on the mortgage and real estate industry. Over 30 industry leaders will discuss what to expect in originations, servicing, government, and the single-family rental market as we move toward both a health and economic recovery. Register now.

Real Estate Connection (REC) "Pivot to Purchases" webinar is on May 3rd at 1:00 pm. Join  Adam Sullivan from Zillow.com  and Barry Habib in discussing the importance of leads in the digital mortgage landscape as well as practical and tactical strategies to grow your business: Register.

The California MBA Innovators Conference agenda is set for May 4-5.

Join the MBA of Greater Philadelphia for a Free Open Industry Webinar sponsored by National MI on Tuesday, May 4th at 11AM ET: dive into various schedules and tax code rules that come into play when underwriting the self-employed borrower.

Join UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate on Wednesday, May 5th for "Affordable Housing Development: Career Pathways, Challenges, and Trends".

loanDepot Wholesale is hosting a capital markets conversation on May 6th at 11am PT with loanDepot Wholesale’s Director of Marketing & Training, Carla Meyers, and me for some lively banter and topical information on the current mortgage market and its impact on the Broker community.

Vice Capital Markets will be sponsoring the next Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob, featuring Chris Bennett. Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, Chris, and I will be discussing current events in the mortgage market for 45 minutes on May 7th: “The Rundown with Rob and Rich.”

May 10-12 brings us the MBA Georgia Annual Conference in Northern Florida, in person!

Register for the Plaza Home Mortgage webinar How Does the Mortgage Cycle Work? on Monday, May 10th. Every mortgage associate benefits from understanding how the process works from application through servicing. Whether new to the industry or never had time before, take 60 minutes to navigate the 8 steps of the mortgage cycle.

Join MMLA’s May 11th Webinar for a deeper dive into the new requirements to meet General QM/Safe Harbor status and the impact the changes will have on your company’s policies and procedures. Register for QM – The Final Ruling?

Plaza Home Mortgage® offers manufactured housing as an option on most of its conforming loan programs. Join Plaza on Tuesday, May 11th to discuss this property type in more detail, Manufactured Housing - Finance Options Crafted to Your Borrower’s Needs.

Join MMLA’s May 11th Webinar for a deeper dive into the new requirements to meet General QM/Safe Harbor status and the impact the changes will have on your company’s policies and procedures. Register for QM – The Final Ruling?

Register for OMBA’s Virtual Convention on May 10th and 11th: Bringing Ohioans Home.

As the pandemic recedes, M&A interest and IPO activity are heating up in the mortgage industry. Whether 2020's record-breaking profits have you looking to buy, sell, or take your company public, you won't want to miss the Thursday, May 13th fireside chat with industry expert Rob Chrisman and LBA Ware CEO & Founder Lori Brewer: Deal or No Deal: Growth and Exit Strategies for Today's Mortgage Lender.

Capital Markets

Looking at news over time, economic data released over the past month has exceeded expectations of many market participants and last week was no exception when it came to initial jobless claims. It hit a new low since the beginning of the pandemic, and, combined with a record number of job openings, point to a strong April payroll report. New home sales blew away market expectations, increasing over 20 percent as builders report selling out of new communities in days and limiting sales despite increasing materials and labor costs. Leading economic indicators increased 1.3 percent in March as all areas of the economy saw improvement during the month. The ISM manufacturing index increased nicely in March to a 16-year high, and the services index wasn’t far behind at 63.7. The faster than expected rebound in consumer spending has prompted many to increase their forecast for GDP with many economists now expecting greater than 6 percent growth for the year, which would be the highest annual rate in nearly 40 years. Initial worries about runaway inflation have begun to subside as current price pressures are expected to ease later this year as global supply chain bottlenecks improve. Despite all of this there is currently little market expectation that the Fed will deviate from its stated path to continue to support the recovery through the remainder of the year.

Looking at Friday, after Treasury yields surged to start the year due to large fiscal stimulus and a rapid vaccine rollout, the threat of President Biden imposing stricter regulations and higher taxes on the wealthy has seen those yields decline in April. Economic data to close last week added to evidence of a recovery, namely through the release of mostly better than expected Manufacturing and Services PMI surveys from major economies. By the close Friday, Treasury yields had pulled back a basis point while the MBS basis closed wider across the stack. We will have more on new home sales surging 20.7 percent month-over-month in March tomorrow.

This week’s month-end economic calendar sees a pick-up in Fed activity as well as data. Investors will receive updates on durable goods orders, house prices, consumer confidence, the first look at Q1 GDP and the PCE index. The latest two-day FOMC meeting takes place tomorrow and Wednesday. March durable goods orders kicked off the schedule (+.5 percent, ex-transportation +1.6 percent). Later this morning brings April Dallas Fed Texas manufacturing and a Treasury auction of $61 billion 5-year notes. Today’s Desk support is one of the largest on the current schedule at $8 billion over three operations, including two in UMBS30 2 percent and 2.5 percent for $3.3 billion each. The last week of April starts with Agency MBS prices worse/down over .125 and the 10-year yielding 1.59 after closing last week at 1.57 percent.

Employment

“You ever feel like every mortgage leader and recruiter knows more about your production metrics than you do? Things you didn’t even know, such as, where you rank for purchase units in your top county or your exact percentage of FHA vs. Conventional business. Are you curious about how to access to your own personal data, local market demographics and info on referral partner targets to help you strategically grow your market share? As a big data company, loanDepot has proven actionable data helps drive growth, and we think it’s time you had more visibility. Our technology team built a personalized website, melloYOU, to provide that data for every originator in the country. melloYOU syncs your personal metrics, local market rankings, Realtor® data, demographics, and strategic growth resources, all with the end goal of helping you grow your personal market share. Want to see what your site will look like? Click here. Reach out to melloYOU@loandepot.com to request your very own melloYOU site today!”

MLOs close more deals with Planet Home Lending, LLC’s direct lender platform. They join Planet for competitive pricing and industry-leading turn times. With an average purchase volume of nearly 50% and retained servicing volume of more than 90%, Planet’s branches are future proofed. To build your business with a company that excels in all market cycles, contact Henry Brandt (214-396-3012) today!

A successful, growing mortgage bank is seeking a candidate to fill an opening for a Mortgage Servicing Manager. The Mortgage Servicing Manager is accountable for the day-to-day operations of the Mortgage Servicing department and has the responsibility of loan servicing of both internal portfolio loans as well as investor loans, post-loan administration functions such as modification, subordinations and partial releases, compliance management, payment processing, escrow, insurance, and reporting. Additionally, the Mortgage Servicing Manager will be responsible for successful management of the mortgage servicing team and providing leadership, guidance, training, and support while maintaining compliance with all company, investor, federal and state requirements, policies, and procedures. This is a remote position with some travel required. If interested, please send your resume to Anjelica Nixt and specify this opportunity. 

The first quarter of 2021 has gotten off to a great start at Pezian Search Group, but with several agency and regulatory changes coming this year, is your team ready? Let us help! We’re continuously partnering with new Clients and helping talented people in the Mortgage industry maximize their career potential. Some of our most recent successes have included Conventional, FHA/VA, and Non-QM Underwriters, Underwriting Leaders, Secondary Market Traders, Processors, Closers, QC Auditors, Disclosure Specialists, Encompass Administrators and more. Whether you’re looking to grow your teams or are looking to take the next step in your career either now or in the future, we’d love to work with you. Connect with our Principal, follow us on LinkedIn, apply at PezianSearchGroup.com/find-a-job and reach out to our team at info@PezianSearchGroup.com to uncover all of the benefits that we can offer.

At Caliber Home Loans, our team is dedicated to ensuring you have a successful, meaningful and fun onboarding experience. Watch this video testimonial as sales manager, Cesar Del Collado, explains how he was set up for success when he joined Caliber with our onboarding program Power Up. You’ll have our whole Ops team providing guidance and support to assist you in originating loans. Join a lender that cares about giving our loan originators the best odds for success. To be immediately considered for a sales position, email Brian Miller.