"Sergeant, can we go for breakfast now?" "March first!" Welcome to March, with Mardi Gras beginning today, Daylight Savings Time on the 13th, Pi Day on 3.14, the Ides on the 15th, and St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th. (Nope, no paid days off.) Meanwhile, the world is watching Russia attack Ukraine and many are doing what they can. For example, broker dealer Jefferies will donate 100% of net global trading commissions on March 2nd for all trading in equities, fixed income and foreign exchange by the firm’s clients. In addition, Jefferies as a firm will donate $1 million directly, and its more than 4,500 employees worldwide will be given the opportunity to personally donate to these efforts.

Economists are watching money flows for individuals, as it appears that the biggest share of the extra outlays on new cars, home improvements, and laptops comes from America's top income tiers. Rates are dropping, but expectations of inflation are not. High-earners also usually own the most expensive houses, and they have tapped the fast-rising value of their homes through refinancing, HELOCs, and 2nds. The sudden spike in their net worth and their cash-out refis keep this segment of the population spending at rates far faster than before the pandemic struck. Inflation is effectively a "tax" that falls most heavily on lower-income households who devote much more of their incomes to buying goods and services than high-earners, who accumulate the savings to buy those houses and stocks that have risen so much in value.

Lender and broker products, services

Northpointe Bank Correspondent Lending offers 100% financing and expanded qualification requirements with its Doctor loan program. Designed for borrowers who have student loans or limited savings, the program helps medical professionals* qualify to purchase a home. Eligible borrowers can be currently practicing or begin employment within 90 days of loan closing. Delegated clients receive eligibility sign-off by Northpointe pre-close and Third-Party Origination is allowed. With loan amounts up to $1,000,000, loan-to-value ratios up to 100%, and no mortgage insurance options, Northpointe Bank provides tailored solutions to maximize your profitability and help your business grow. View program details for more information or email us at correspondentsales@northpointe.com. *For more details on Doctor eligibility click here.

New ebook: How to improve your lending profitability to combat 2022’s shrinking margins, according to 4 industry veterans with 20+ years of lending experience. Mortgage rates have nearly reached 4%, blowing past industry predictions. This year, profit margins will be hard to maintain as interest rates rise and loan costs skyrocket. Now more than ever, lenders need to think towards actionable ways to buoy their viability. Digital mortgage solutions provider Maxwell’s newly published ebook aims to help small and midsize lenders prepare their operations for challenges to come. Featuring insight from exclusive interviews with 4 industry veterans holding 20+ years of mortgage experience each, this ebook will help you develop strategies for success. Want to arm your team with actionable tips for the challenging road ahead? Click here to download Maxwell’s free ebook “Future-Proof: Industry Insight to Help Local Lenders Thrive in 2022 and Beyond.”

“Customer experience is critical. The industry has been focused on the digital revolution taking place within the mortgage life cycle. While speeding up cycle times and lowering costs are important, we must not lose sight of the key element that drives our business: The consumer. How do you lower costs while improving customer experience? That is why lenders and servicers are partnering with Sutherland. Our Design and Innovation Labs in San Francisco are a customer centric think tank that allows us to uncover opportunities to increase our client’s business. Whether you’re trying to reduce withdrawal rates, increase portfolio retention or reduce call center volumes with Conversational AI, our focus is to pinpoint areas of improvement that keep your most precious asset, ‘the borrower.’ We’d like to hear from you: please contact Neil Armstrong (919-270-5324).”

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.

In case you haven’t already heard, Russia’s central bank raised its key interest rate to 20% from 9.5% literally overnight. And yet borrowers on this side of the pond are upset about mortgage rates at 4%... talk about perspective. Economists are noting that this global uncertainty may result in downward pressure on mortgage rates, so that’s some good news for your buyers - and your eardrums at this point. But you’ll still likely experience rate-shoppers and “mortgage calculator” Googlers. So how do you keep these buyers from going online to find payment scenarios (where they will inevitably be picked up by the internet lenders and courted for months to come)? You give them a simple tool that’s tailored to their financials, their market, and your bank. You give them QuickQual by LenderLogix. QuickQual lets your borrowers and Realtors run real-time, hyper-accurate payment and closing cost scenarios and generate on-demand pre-qualification (and pre-approval) letters right from their cellphones. Get a sample sent to your phone to learn more.

Do you have new loan officers with less than 2 years' experience who are ready for some explosive pipeline growth this year? Graduates from XINNIX’s IGNITE ™ Program recently saw a 69% increase in monthly loan applications and gained an average of 2.67 reliable referral sources. The key ingredient to the success of the IGNITE™ participants is XINNIX’s daily accountability and prospecting activities that are built into the 8-week program. XINNIX is accepting applications now for their next IGNITE™ class, which begins on April 4. The deadline to apply is March 21. To learn more about the IGNITE™ Program’s explosive possibilities for your experienced sales team, schedule a call with your Account Executive today.

 “Candor is the Tesla of Mortgage Technology.” Great analogy Shane Osborne, Hallmark Mortgage! Like a self-driving car, Candor is built with Autonomous Intelligence that can make real time, complex decisions with no human assist. Candor’s guaranteed flawless underwrite includes everything from income calculations, to OCR, guideline eligibility, and information scrutiny, just like your very best underwriter conducts. With Candor, you get a Machine as an Underwriter that never makes a mistake, has zero bias, and will enable you to at least double your underwriter touches and get to a conditional approval in hours, not weeks. There is no substitute, no alternative, no comparison. Isn’t it worth 30 minutes to learn more?

 
Events & training

Learn details about Mountain West Financials’ new Down Payment offerings, 3 DPA Programs with up to 5 percent in assistance, available nationwide (except New York), Forgivable & Repayment Options. Register for MWF Chenoa Fund DPA Webinar on Tuesday, March 1.

Non-QM Lending is back in vogue again. New investors, shifts in capital markets, and an increase in private label securitization activity has made Non-QM lending more viable in 2022 than in past years. Join MBA of Eastern PA for a March 3 Webinar - Current Opportunities in Non-QM. Session is open to Members and Non- members.

Benefit from tips for communicating effectively with mortgage referral partners to gain a regular stream of business. Register for MMA’s March Educational Event on March 2nd featuring Blaine Rada from Arch, MI speaking about Ten Tips That Turn the Tide in Your Favor - Ideas for Success in a Changing Market. Price: $10 Members, $25 Nonmembers, light afternoon refreshments served, and beverages provided.

Join Zonda on Thursday, March 3 for the Q1 Housing Forecast webinar. Chief Economist Ali Wolf will deliver a national housing market update. Guest speakers Andrew Wilson and Shaun McCutcheon will share regional outlooks for Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville, and Atlanta.

Register for MBA’s “Get to Know MISMO” Webinar on March 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 at the end of this week.

This Friday the 4th is the next edition of The Mortgage Collaborative’s Rundown with Rich and Rob. Maxwell Founder & CEO, John Paasonen, will be co-hosting! Rich Swerbinsky, the COO of The Mortgage Collaborative, and I will be covering current events in the mortgage market for 30 minutes starting at 1PM MT in “The Rundown with Rich and Rob.”

The Lenders One Summit is right around the corner in Phoenix, 3/6-3/9 at the JW Marriott, Desert Ridge Resort. Featured speakers include industry icons and celebrities.

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.

UCLA’s second installment in the Climate Change, Health and Built Environment Discussion Series will highlight best practices, programs and policies for climate adaptation and community resilience through the built environment, and discuss the process for implementing them.

Register for Part 2: Adaptation and Community Resilience, via Zoom webinar on Monday, March 7th, 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. PT.

IKYMI - MMLA Sales & Tech Conference is coming March 9th at the Crystal Gardens Banquet & Conference Center in Howell, MI. It will be a fully interactive and engaging experience with great speakers and Vendor expo area throughout the day. Check out this video from MMLA CEO, Joanne Misuraca, on why you need to register for the MMLA Annual Sales and Technology Symposium.

Capital markets: Conflict pushing rates lower

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!

Mortgage-backed securities and U.S. Treasuries rallied “across the curve” to open the week due to continued fighting and fallout from Russia/Ukraine, but don’t expect mortgage rates to drop precipitously just yet. The odds of a 50-basis point hike at the Fed’s March meeting have been nearly entirely reduced to zero. The NY Fed Desk released a new schedule covering the March 1 to 11 period which averages $2.8 billion per day, as expected. 30-year 2 percent and 15-year 1.5 percent were dropped from the rotation. Kicking off the new schedule, the Desk will purchase up to $2.9 billion 30-year securities today.

In terms of economic releases, we will receive some second-tier, non-market moving numbers: final February manufacturing PMIs from Markit and ISM, construction spending for January, and Dallas Fed Texas services for February, all due out later this morning. Besides Chair Powell, Atlanta Fed President Bostic is scheduled to speak and President Biden will deliver the State of the Union Address after the close. We begin Tuesday focused on Russian aggression with Agency MBS prices better by .250-.375 and the 10-year yielding 1.74 after closing yesterday at 1.84 percent.

I just did a week's worth of cardio ... after walking into a spider web.

Employment & transitions

LoanPeople is searching for a Servicing Manager to build and manage its servicing program. “LoanPeople is an Austin-based IMB known for its industry expertise, agile environment, and technology investment. This is not a traditional loan servicing oversight management role with a finite program structure and a series of daily actions to complete; instead, our new Servicing Manager will be building our servicing program from scratch! This position will be responsible for managing and overseeing the company’s subservicer, reviewing and enhancing our subservicing strategy, ensuring servicing compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements and guidelines, and developing reports for measuring subservicer performance. We are growing quickly, with in-house processing, underwriting, closing, and funding, and a portfolio of conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, jumbo, and condo products. Learn about us and contact us to apply.”

Spring EQ Wholesale, the industry’s leading home equity lender, is hiring! Are you looking to take the next step in your career? Apply now for a Remote Sr. Wholesale Account Executive role on Spring EQ’s growing wholesale team. Join a passionate group of professionals committed to diversity, inclusion, and having fun! As the 2ndmortgage market heats up, so does the nationwide demand for Spring EQ. Not only is Spring EQ proud to be named to the “Soaring 76 Fastest Growing Companies in Philadelphia,” it has also been awarded one of the best places to work by the Philadelphia Business Journal for the past 4 years. Learn more about the role and take the next step in your career. Mortgage professionals, don’t broker your home equity loans for free: Spring EQ Wholesale wants to partner with you! Become a partner now or contact your Account Executive to learn more. 

“It’s never been a better time to join Acra Lending as we continue to expand! With one of the most diverse choices of mortgage lending solutions including Bank Statement, Investor Cash Flow, Foreign National, ITIN, Fix & Flip/Multifamily programs and more! Acra is actively hiring for Fix & Flip Account Executives, Correspondent Sales, MLOs, Wholesale AEs, and more! At Acra Lending, you will work with experienced, dedicated, and passionate people that are motivated to leading us as the industry’s fastest growing private mortgage lender. This is a unique time to join our team and contribute to this growing company. If interested, email careers@acralending.com or apply directly at JoinAcra.”