Today is “National Pizza Day,” a made-up day that wasn’t around when Jimmy Carter was sworn in as president 45 years ago. Back then the yield on the risk-free 10-year T-note was 7.40 percent and 30-year mortgage rates were 8.75 percent. Rates have bumped lower since 1981, but for the first time since August 2019, the 10-year Treasury yield is nearing 2%, reaching 1.95 percent this week. President Carter had housing on his agenda, and after the presidency went on to do Habitat for Humanity work throughout the United States. Recall that Habitat For Humanity came up with its first-ever 3-D printed house.

I mention this because many lenders are concentrating on products to help buyers, and finding those buyers. “Rob, is there a database to determine how many purchase money mortgages were recorded in a specific county/area during a certain time period?” Marina Walsh, MBA’s VP of Industry Analysis, and the MBA is a good source, and she recommended, “The MBA offers low-cost options for lender rankings based on HMDA data through the Residential Originations Databook showing lender lists by state, metro area, and county. There is also the possibility of custom reports based on a company’s specifications, and members should contact Jon Penniman.”

Broker and lender services & products

Love notes and flowers are common Valentines gifts, but have you ever heard of vinegar valentines? Popular in the Victorian era, the postcards featured unflattering caricatures and insulting poems, which were anonymously sent to adversaries. Of course, you’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar valentines. That’s why FormFree helps lenders sweeten the homebuying process for borrowers with AccountChek. AccountChek streamlines borrower verification by electronically collating direct-source borrower asset, income, and employment data in a single report. Additionally, FormFree automatically submits available 12-month rent payment history reports to Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) validation service, so lenders can help renters reach their homeownership goals without the lengthy paper chase. Contact Gregg Palmer to find out how you can win borrowers’ affection.

Do you know which one of your competitors are taking your business? If you’re not sure, check out this new blog post from First American Data & Analytics: It’s Time to Step Up the Loss Lead Analysis Game. You’ll learn four important tips that guide your Loss Lead Analysis strategy and bottom-line results. It’s no secret that 2022 is anticipated to see a reduction in refis and an increase in interest rates. This smaller refi share means lenders and servicers cannot afford to let customers slip away without understanding where they went, why they left, and what to do about it. You don’t know what you don’t know – and that could cost you. It’s time to get in the game and be prepared. It’ll help make your marketing smarter, your strategy and benchmarking more on point, and your customer retention efforts more effective.

Is your organization prepared for more aggressive CFPB oversight? Richey May has helped our mortgage banking clients mitigate risk and strengthen compliance capabilities for the past 35 years. Our CFPB Readiness services will provide your organization with the best resources available, empowering you to take proactive measures, drive efficiencies, navigate change and focus on growth. Contact our experts at Richey May Advisory today to learn more about how we can help you prepare.

With mortgage costs rising, now is the time to improve your lending efficiencies. Maxwell offers innovative technology that centralizes your processes, promotes team productivity, and helps you close more loans with less work. The over 300 lenders using Maxwell Point of Sale slash their time-to-close by 13+ days and save an average of 21 BPS in costs per loan. Loan officers using Maxwell POS close 15% more loans per month, helping lenders attract and retain the industry’s best talent. Beyond front-end improvements, Maxwell Processor Edge, a first-of-its-kind processing workflow technology, transforms the loan fulfillment process, accelerating document review, reducing errors, and boosting processor capacity. Maxwell POS or Processor Edge customers gain exclusive access to secondary market trading solution Maxwell Capital. Learn how to increase your lending profitability and combat this year’s margin compression with Maxwell technology. Click here to set up a demo.

Out with the OLD portals, Say “Hello” to The Lounge! Take advantage of one of the most powerful tools to help mortgage brokers Close More Loans, LoanStream’s TPO Portal, The Lounge! Learn how to submit, price, and disclose loans in minutes. Get Trained on using this powerful tool! Spots are limited. Reserve now. The Lounge - Submit, Price and Disclose in The Lounge. Plus, Expand Your Marketing in 2022 with Non-QM, join our webinar, space is limited: Webinar Registration LoanStream Wholesale - Wholesale Mortgage Lending - Stand out with the ONE Lender that makes you the ONE to call. Contact your Account Executive today. Visit www.LoanStreamWholesale.com for our great rates and programs.

What do Amazon and mortgage subservicing have in common? In a remote-working, post-pandemic world, the answer is an obsession with customer service. With customers able to handle more and more of their needs from the comfort of their homes, they expect companies to deliver the warmth and ease of in person interactions digitally. Fortunately, TMS didn’t wait for a pandemic to combine great people with great tech. Warmth and efficiency, through their fleet of CAREologists, and SIME, TMS’s proprietary subservicing portal, have always been the principal elements of TMS subservicing. In a new whitepaper, published in HousingWire, read more about how Amazon’s standards have changed customer expectations, and how TMS has long been geared to meet them.

Home buyer & owner problem: With YoY inventory down 17.5% and sale prices up 15.2%, you must give buyers world class home search linked to your salesforce so portals don’t steal them and they can write offers that close. And you must give owners a real-time view of home equity and ability to make informed home improvement, cash out, or sell/buy decisions. Real-time engagement solution: HouseCanary’s ComeHome for home buyers & owners.

Training & events in March for planning purposes

Register for MBA’s “Get to Know MISMO” Webinar onMarch 3rd, 3-4 pm ET. The key to accelerating the industry’s digital future and is free to all industry professionals.

MCT is gearing up for the biggest Exchange yet, 10-year anniversary of MCT Exchange and 20-year anniversary of MCT celebration at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego the first week in March. Give your company unique opportunities for networking and exposure.

The Lenders One Summit is right around the corner in sunny Phoenix, 3/6-3/9 at the JW Marriott, Desert Ridge Resort. Some of the featured speakers include industry icons as well as Jim Craig, Olympic Gold Medalist Goalie, Laura Brandao, Casey Crawford, Doug Duncan, Dan Fichtler, Joe Garrett and Mike McAuley, Garth Graham, Joel Kan, Ari Karen, Rob Chrisman, Mitch Kider, Kevin Peranio, Seth Sprague, CMB, Tony Thompson, CMB, Brian Vieux, CMB, and many more! The link to register is here. You don’t want to miss this Lenders One event!

The Tennessee MBA has organized a statewide series of events starting in Knoxville on March 8th from 11:30am-1pm. Nashville will host a luncheon on March 10th from 11:30am to 1PM. If you’re near Chattanooga on March 11th, from 6:00pm – 10pm. Memphis is having a luncheon on March 16th from 11:30am-1pm.

Get the tips you’ll need for the Spring Sales Season at the MMLA Sales & Technology Symposium. A fully interactive and engaging experience with great speakers and other activities throughout the day of March 9th from 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM at the Crystal Gardens Banquet & Conference Center. Cost is just $49 each for attendees. Join now as a new MMLA member and attend for free.

Join ICE Mortgage Technology for its 10th annual Users Conference, ICE Experience 2022 “Make the Connection”, taking place March 14-16, 2022 at Wynn Las Vegas. Health and safety protocols remain our top priority – Clear Health Pass will be used, and a vaccine verification or proof of negative COVID test 48-hours prior will be required for every single attendee.

The next edition of Information Management Network IMN’s NPL, Notes & Default Servicing Forum is scheduled for March 14-15 at the PGA Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Capital markets

Smarter intel for tougher homebuying market: As buying homes at the right price gets harder with YoY inventory down 17.5% and sale prices up 15.2%, HouseCanary is your national brokerage to power intelligent analysis and buying. Create multiple local market Buy Boxes using Acquisition Explorer to filter and analyze live listings as they hit. Then run 3yr home value forecasts using market volatility, local income, and other factors to make smart decisions. Demo here!

Economic news from ‘round the world continues to show strength, and this is reflected in rates, including mortgage rates. The U.S. 10-year note reached its highest level since August 2019 yesterday ahead of this week’s Quarterly Refunding. Aside from that, there wasn’t much news in the bond market. Today, we saw that mortgage applications decreased 8.1 percent from one week earlier, according to data from MBA. The Refinance Index is 52 percent lower than the same week one year ago, while the Purchase Index is 12 percent lower than the same week one year ago. Later this morning brings wholesale trade figures, for those who care, and a Treasury auction of $37 billion 10-year notes. The NY Fed Desk will purchase up to $3.7 billion. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices better by .125 and the 10-year yielding 1.93 after closing yesterday at 1.95 percent.

Living in some place like Kansas, St. Louis, or Chicago? Tired of February? Don’t fret, you’re not alone as this weatherman deadpans a description of this month. “This is the place people go if they are being punished.”

Employment & new hires

A leading national retail lender is seeking to hire a dynamic sales manager for an existing region. The ideal candidate is a demonstrated production leader with a strong, proven track record of delivering results in a fast-paced, high energy, people-centric environment. The company is seeking a leader with significant sales experience, solid financial acumen, and a history of growing a multi-state region. In addition, the right individual must be a dynamic sales coach, grower, and facilitator, as well as an ambassador of our team-oriented culture. If you’ve built and managed highly effective teams by fostering enduring, authentic relationships and you’re in search of an opportunity to be a difference maker, please click here to confidentially submit your resume.

“Acra Lending continues to expand its footprint as the industry’s leading private mortgage lender, and we are seeking talented mortgage professionals to join the growing team! Now is the time to join a company with stable growth that values their employees. Acra Lending is currently hiring for Fix & Flip/Multi-Family Loan officers, Wholesale Account Executives, MLOs, Correspondent BDOs, and Transaction Managers that are ambitious and ready to grow with the company. Apply at JoinAcra or email us at careers@acralending.com to learn more about the opportunities we offer.”

Wyndham Capital Mortgage is taking our technological advantages and applying them to our new retail channel. We’re looking for strong producing leaders to help transform how retail lending is done. At Wyndham, you’ll benefit from a relentless commitment to your both your team and customers. By joining our retail lending team, you’ll benefit from the power of choice. We empower our producing leaders and LO’s to choose where and how they get their business. We embrace the traits and routines of successful leaders and LO’s instead of having them adjust to fit within our box. Our fully underwritten pre-approval and $5,000 On-Time Closing Guarantee gives you the peace of mind that we’ll deliver for your agents and homebuyers. Our five-star customer ratings show that we’re obsessed with providing a remarkable customer experience. Ready to start an incredible journey building the team of your dreams? Click here to get started or email at retail@wyndhamcapital.com.

If you’re looking for an interesting series to watch each week, Shamrock Home Loans’ CEO, Dean Harrington, produces short video clips every Tuesday to an audience of over 8,000. Topics range from sales and communication techniques to management, culture, and leadership. You can find the entire series at www.theshamrockhuddle.com. And do yourself a favor and email Dean to check out his popular Out of Office Messages.

FSB Mortgage (First Savings Bank of Indiana) is happy to announce the hiring of industry veteran Keith Bilodeau to head up its TPO division. Keith joins Brian Simon who heads up all residential lending activities for the Bank. Brian said, “The addition of Keith to our leadership reaffirms the bank’s commitment to continuing to build our mortgage division into the best multi-channel lender in the industry.” First Savings Bank is re-branding it’s TPO lending division, currently known as E2 Lending, to FSB Mortgage. “I have been very impressed with not only the Bank’s commitment to grow the TPO channel, but also the quality of the existing management team here,” said Keith. “It has the strength of a bank with the heart of a mortgage banker, and what a great time to build and grow the business across all markets in all 50 states. Reach out: We’re looking for entrepreneurial teammates in sales, marketing, operations, and credit who can thrive in a work from home environment covering all time zones.”