“Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven't met yet.” Lenders and vendors are certainly meeting here in Austin. What’s going on out there? There’s endurance. Congratulations to my son Robbie as today is his 1,000th podcast, the link to which is posted at the bottom of every opening paragraph. (What have you done, workwise, 1,000 times?) There’s innovation. There’s Praxis Lending Solutions, newly launched, focused on workflow redesign, tech assessment, and customer experience. There’s education. On today's episode of Mortgages With Millennials, Kristin Messerli and Robbie Chrisman welcome a couple of potential first time home buyers to ask them about their home search as it pertains to working with a lender and the customer experience. There’s customer service. Want to do a client with a high credit card balance (and paying 28 percent on it) a favor? Of course you want to put them into a cash out refi, but if that doesn’t work, for $1 have them join American Consumer Council which gives them access to membership in normally off-limit credit unions. Some, like UFCU in Austin, will accept transferred balances into an account where the rate can be only 9.9 percent. Hmmm… 9.9 versus 28. (Questions can be directed to UFCU’s Michael Jones.) (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Figure. 50 percent of the top IMB’s use them, and if you haven’t examined your HELOC/HELOAN strategy recently, it’s time to get on it. Hear an interview with Polunsky Beitel Green’s Peter Idziak on the various executive orders Trump has issued since he entered office and their potential impacts on the housing industry.)
Broker and Lender Products, Programs, and Software
Down Payment Resources, the OG of all things DPA, has once again tallied the nation’s DPA programs and sliced and diced them to provide us with new insights. DPR’s just-released Q4 2024 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) report found a year-over-year increase in the number of homebuyer assistance programs by 172 for a grand total 2,466 — a new record. The Q4 report also showed an uptick in the number of programs supporting purchasers of manufactured and multi-family housing, allowing access to more affordable housing and providing passive income for tenant-landlords. “We’re pleased to see providers stepping into this moment to offer more flexibility to buyers stymied by saving for a down payment amid rising home prices and high interest rates,” said Rob Chrane, DPR’s founder and CEO, noting that DPA can lower LTV by an average of 6%. Read the full report or schedule a demo for more.
“TENA Companies, Inc. is the Leader in Mortgage Quality Control. Download our FREE e-book: “Mortgage Servicing Quality Control: A Comprehensive Guide,” for valuable insights to improve your Servicing QC operations. Then join us at the MBA Servicing Solutions Conference & Expo in Dallas, Feb. 4-7 (Booth #206) to discuss your specific QC challenges with our industry experts Wade Mjelde, CRCM, Kathryn Anderson-Paulbick, CMB, AMP, and Tom McDonough, AMP. Contact us to set up a meeting or just stop by the booth to chat and grab a chocolate! Experience the TENA difference with unmatched accuracy, expert support, experienced audit staff and robust reporting tools to help ensure your firm stays compliant. Visit our website or contact us today at info@tenaco.com for a free consultation and/or demo, and discover what makes TENA the leader in Mortgage Quality Control services and software. Sign up for our TENAlert newsletter for the latest mortgage regulatory updates delivered to your inbox!”
“Giddy up, y’all! MQMR is hitting the trail for a Texas-sized adventure! We’re making three big stops in the Lone Star State: The MBA Servicing Solutions Conference in Dallas, TMC ‘Live Large Think Big’ Conference also in Dallas, and TMBA Annual in Arlington. We’re bringing our Fair Lending expertise along for the ride. From audits to actionable strategies and advanced regression analysis, we’ll help ensure your compliance game is stronger than a Texas rodeo champ. Plus, with the 2025 HMDA data submission deadline of March 1st on the horizon, our data integrity reviews can help you clean up your data and submit with confidence. Everything is bigger in Texas, including our commitment to fair lending! Whether you're gearing up to tackle Fair Lending challenges or looking to network at the upcoming conferences, lets connect! Download our White Paper to get started!”
“MortgageFlex is excited to attend and exhibit at the MBA’s Servicing Solutions Conference & Expo in Dallas on February 4-7. MortgageFlex is bringing an innovative approach to servicing with a system inspired by decades of experience in the origination space. We have added full default to the industry’s first cloud-native servicing system. We also offer a servicing oversight solution to help lenders manage sub-servicers. MortgageFlex Default is the first of its kind, built inside the full servicing system, or it can be stand-alone. All other solutions are external products bolted on to support the default process. The application accommodates servicing of Loss Mitigation, Bankruptcy, and Foreclosure solutions. It is delivered with all 50 state foreclosure templates that the servicer can utilize and/or change themselves. Our SQL Database model includes real-time transactions, workflow queues, reporting, and free data access. Automation and workflow queues provide an almost double-the-industry-standard loan count to FTE ratio. Please schedule your time today with John McCrea or stop by our booth number 420. Enjoy the conference!”
The Cost of Free: A Data-Driven Case for Paid Mortgage POS Technology! During mortgage downcycles, the idea of cutting costs by opting for “free” technology solutions is tempting. After all, why pay for a POS when you can find one that’s free? The truth is that free technology comes with hidden costs… And as the mortgage industry becomes more competitive and demanding, the ROI from a paid POS system is undeniable. For example, did you know that an average POS customer drives almost $22 million in additional loan volume/year using Maxwell POS vs. a free competitor? In this eBook, Maxwell lays out how free mortgage technology leads to hidden costs and missed opportunities and why paid solutions are worth the investment, delivering substantial returns in terms of efficiency, borrower satisfaction, and loan officer productivity. Click here to get your copy of The Cost of Free: A Data-Driven Case for Paid Mortgage POS Technology.
Thought Leadership: Bond Prices Accurate?
In 2025, many mortgage professionals are bracing for 7+ percent rates, but what if they’re wrong? For the latest thought leadership piece on the Chrisman Commentary website, Rich Swerbinsky writes how the mortgage bond market is currently overreacting to exaggerated fears driven by political rhetoric and concerns about inflation and tariffs. However, these fears may be short-lived, and as the Trump administration tackles the national debt with creative solutions, mortgage rates could start to fall. Find out why the current market dynamics may be mispricing future opportunities and how investors could soon be drawn to mortgage bonds, narrowing spreads and pushing rates lower. Click here to read more.
Lender and Investor News
Lenders and investors aren’t solely focused on pure traditional conventional conforming and government programs. There are state bond programs, reverse construction and construction perm, jumbo programs, etc. No LO wants to say “I can’t help you” to a borrower. Here’s a random look at who’s doing what.
“Hawaii State FCU, to address the unique financial challenges that Hawaii residents face, especially first-time buyers and those facing escalating costs, has rolled out a 40-Year Mortgage Loan! Hawaii State FCU’s 40-Year Mortgage Loan addresses the affordability gap in Hawaii’s housing market, offering first-time buyers a meaningful pathway to homeownership. This program offers flexible terms and innovative features to make homeownership more accessible. Key features include a flexible Loan Option (choose between a 40-year fixed-rate mortgage or a 10/6 Adjustable-Rate Mortgage), high Loan-to-Value: Finance up to 95% of the home’s value, gift-Friendly Financing: Allows family contributions toward down payments and closing costs, and with an education Requirement: At least one borrower must complete a homeownership education program.
Professional ONE is LoanStream Mortgage’s latest innovation designed to help close more loans and expand broker’s client base. Clients with K1 Incomes and less than 25% ownership can qualify with LoanStream’s new program.
Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry authority on homebuyer assistance program data and solutions, released its Q4 2024 Homeownership Program Index (HPI) report. The report saw the number of homebuyer assistance programs increase by 172 and the number of entities offering them increase by 75 year-over-year (YoY), bringing the total number of available programs to 2,466.
Newfi Lending announced a Minority Equity Investment in Dunmor, a leading provider of bridge, fix and flip, and ground-up construction loans for real estate developers. Under the terms of the transaction, Newfi continues to provide an initial financing facility to expand Dunmor’s origination capacity. Additionally, Newfi is providing a strategic minority investment to empower Dunmor to capture the growing market opportunity within the Residential Transition Lending (“RTL”) sector.
Citi Correspondent Lending Bulletin 2025-01 Contents: Notification of no loan purchases on 2/14/2025, Depreciating Markets monthly list updates. Credit policy updates including FICO overlay on investment properties (Agency), citizenship requirements & photo ID, auto allowance expense account reimbursement, stipend income. Clarifications regarding Non-Agency second home requirements, stable monthly income, Deed restrictions, existence of Non-Agency business requirements, asset verification and disaster policy updates.
Designed for Investor Clients and Exclusive to LoanStream Brokers: DSCR 5-8 Unit Residential Program.
On January 9, 2025, AmeriHome announced disaster inspection requirements for Los Angeles County as a result of DR-4856. For Mortgage Loans secured by a property located within an impacted zip code, AmeriHome will accept an inspection from LA County Recovers. More information can be viewed in AmeriHome Disaster Announcement 20250104-CL.
Capital Markets
Markets got spooked to open the week and a flight to safety triggered a rally in the bond market, due to a new AI model called DeepSeek, created by a Chinese start-up but it won’t answer questions about China’s human relations or suppressing dissidents. The model is cheaper to develop than major models like ChatGPT and doesn't need the expensive hardware that companies like NVIDIA and Micron typically rely on. This raised concerns about whether the U.S. companies leading the AI sector might lose their edge, putting doubt on future demand for their products. As a result, investors became more risk-averse, shifting their money into safer investments like Treasuries and other government bonds.
On the economic front, we learned yesterday that new home sales bested expectations to rise 3.6 percent during December, the second consecutive monthly gain. The solid sales print adds to the evidence that the temporary late-summer dip in mortgage rates spurred a pick-up in residential investment in the fourth quarter of 2024. More recently, mortgage rates have crept up and are currently hovering around 7 percent.
Although the new home market has become less sensitive to changes in interest rates thanks to home builders' ability to offer rate buydowns and other pricing incentives, the elevated stance of financing costs threatens to discourage home buying in the months ahead. Elevated new home inventory levels and improved availability in the existing market stand as additional headwinds.
December durable goods orders kicked off today’s economic calendar. Later today brings Redbook same store sales, November house price indices from FHFA and Case-Shiller, consumer confidence for January, Richmond Fed manufacturing and services for January, Dallas Fed Texas services for January, and Treasury activity that will be headlined by auctions of $30 billion 2-year FRNs, $44 billion 7-year notes, and a buyback in 7.5- to 30-year TIPS for up to $500 million. We begin Tuesday with Agency MBS prices a few 32nds worse than Monday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.21, and the 10-year yielding 4.56 after closing Monday at 4.53 percent.
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