“Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.” People flying around the nation have probably observed, or have heard, a change in the mood of airport security screeners. It turns out that the Trump Administration outlawed unions at TSA. Change is afoot. In my recent travels around the country, it is clear that LOs have adapted their origination based on price and opportunity. For example, Deephaven’s Tom Davis points out that, “non-QM loans should be done by design, not by decline.” (He is waiting for the trademark on that.) Originators who focus on real estate agents believe that the top 5 percent of agents do 90 percent of the business… and ask other LOs “Where are you focusing your marketing efforts?” In terms of new business, the refinance share of market mortgage applications released last week reached nearly 44 percent, primarily to pay for remodeling and to pay off high interest rate credit card debt. Are you adapting? (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by TransUnion. TransUnion offers thousands of B2B solutions designed to address the unique needs of mortgage lenders, especially for their identity-focused, data-driven mortgage insights and solutions. Hear an interview with AMC Encore’s Jordan Chapman on the journey of an appraiser turned AMC leader, exploring career challenges, industry insights, and the evolving role of women in mortgage and valuation, plus what it takes to get an AMC approved in today’s market.)

Lender and Broker Products, Software, and Services

At a luxury car dealership, each vehicle is custom-built to meet a customer's exact preferences. But sometimes, what you really need is a dependable, well-crafted car that gets the job done with efficiency and ease. NOVA LOS from Dark Matter Technologies is that feature-rich, yet highly efficient solution for lenders who need a powerful tool. The NOVA LOS combines a robust, end-to-end software platform with a cloud-hosted, browser-agnostic interface, delivering a modern user experience at every level, and is easily configured without the need for dedicated tech experts. Its modules for origination, processing, underwriting, closing, and post-closing help streamline operations and improve profitability, while customizable workflows and seamless fintech integrations offer a consistent, unified solution. With its built-in BI solution, lenders can aggregate data from the LOS along with other systems, unlocking valuable insights while avoiding the cost of additional reporting tools. For a productivity boost that’s effective, reliable, and timely to implement, give NOVA a try.

Ncontracts’ On-Demand Webinar: 2025 Regulatory Expectations & Enforcement! What’s on the radar for examiners in 2025 under the new administration? How are evolving priorities shaping compliance risks for financial institutions? Ncontracts’ regulatory compliance experts recently explored how recent enforcement actions and shifting regulatory agendas are impacting institutions like yours. They covered topics including the compliance missteps drawing scrutiny and the evolving compliance landscape, plus actionable strategies to help your institution stay ahead. Other key topics discussed included the biggest lessons learned from 2024 enforcement, the potential impact of new administration, litigation risk, regulatory implementation deadlines, and supervisory priorities for 2025 exams. To access the on-demand webinar, click here.

Looking to make a Slam Dunk with your Pipeline?! LoanStream a DBA of OCMBC Inc, has Slam Dunk March Specials, they are hotter and better than ever! Up to 137.5 BPS Price Improvement on Non-QM (when combined with select) Non-QM: 25bps Price Improvement on all R&T and Cash-Out loans – all doc types, including CES and 5-8 DSCR, 37.5bps Price Improvement on all Purchase loans – all doc types, including 5-8 DSCR. Conventional Specials: 12.5bps Purchase Special for Conventional loans – Can be combined with qualifying Select Specials (excludes Jumbo), 25bps Streamline/IRRRL Special, 37.5bps FHA/VA Purchase Special – Can be combined with qualifying Select Special, includes DPA (excludes CalHFA). Take advantage now for loans locked 3/1/2025 through 3/31/2025. March 2025 Specials LoanStream Wholesale - Wholesale Mortgage Lending - Don’t Miss the Brokers Guide to MaxONE DPA Program Webinar on March 11th Register Now: Webinar Registration LoanStream Wholesale - Wholesale Mortgage Lending.

“Viva Las ICE Experience! We are in Vegas again for an all-you-can-eat buffet of tech talks, innovation, and opportunities to connect with the lending industry’s high rollers. Be sure that stopping by the Total Expert booth (#520) is on your menu. Our team will be there to deal out the details on our enhanced Encompass integration and discuss what 2025 has in store for the mortgage industry. Plus, you’ll have a chance to see if Lady Luck is on your side in our Wiffle Ball Toss where you could win some awesome prizes! Stop by anytime or book some time with us at ICE.”

Tired of costly appraisal-related repurchases? Looking to speed up turn times and improve efficiency? HomeVision is transforming the process with MIRA, helping lenders reduce repurchases, streamline workflows, and optimize capacity. Visit us at Booth #13 at ICE Experience 25 this week to see how top lenders are making game-changing improvements. Don’t just take our word for it: check out this case study to see the impact firsthand!

“Don’t let daylight savings set you back: spring forward with Maxwell at ICE Experience 2025. Feeling sluggish after losing an hour of sleep? Recharge with a cold brew at Booth #620 and discover what’s brewing at Maxwell. See how Maxwell’s mortgage technology helps lenders streamline workflows, boost efficiency, and drive borrower confidence. Plus, get an exclusive first look at QuickPricer, Maxwell’s new pricing tool that helps LOs save time, build trust, and guide borrowers to confident decisions, all inside Maxwell Point of Sale. Meet our experts at ICE Experience 2025, including Maxwell VP of SaaS Michael Salichs, VP of Customer Success Amy Jo Plummer, and Enterprise Sales Executive Michael Stock. We hope to see you there!”

“With over $32 trillion in untapped home equity and mortgage rates still elevated, brokers need a way to help clients access cash without refinancing. HomeEQ, a division of Arc Home, is a fully digital HELOC designed for speed, closing in as few as 5 days, weeks faster than traditional lenders. Built specifically for the wholesale channel, HomeEQ offers 2% broker compensation, simple eligibility requirements, and an intuitive borrower driven experience. No outdated paperwork or long processing times… just a streamlined solution to help you grow your revenue streams. Plus, we back our brokers with a full suite of marketing materials so you can start generating leads immediately. Learn more by contacting John Gibson and then watch our demo and download the Broker Playbook.”\

Mergers and Acquisitions

An agreement has been announced for Rocket Companies to buy Redfin (which owns Bay Equity Home Loans) in an all-stock deal that values Redfin at $2.4 billion. Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman told the company, “I feel sure that Rocket could take all the other good things about Redfin and make them bigger too: our mission, our innovation, our reach, and our commitment to getting the best from one another… I’ve become friends with Rocket’s CEO, Varun Krishna, based on our shared passion for technology and customer service, and because I found someone who, as one of our earliest website users, loves Redfin almost as much as I do. This deal is based on shrewd financial calculations but also on an instinct to go all out on the big thing: making the American Dream more accessible and affordable. Once the deal closes, Rocket and Redfin will form a technology company with the national scale of a lender, brokerage, title company and home-search site. Together, we’ll be able to do stuff we could’ve only dreamed about before.

“Until the sale closes, which we expect to happen in the second or third quarter, Redfin will keep running as we have, separate from Rocket. Afterward, Redfin will run as a business owned by Rocket. Employees paid in Redfin stock will instead get Rocket stock, at an exchange ratio of 0.7926 Rocket shares for every Redfin share, vesting on the same schedule as before… Rocket is committed to our agents and loan officers as Redfin’s primary source of revenue, and Rocket plans to deepen our investment in our people and our culture… Rocket also plans to invest more in our site, to broaden its reach beyond its nearly 50 million monthly average visitors. We’ll maintain the Redfin brand, as a truth-teller and a market-disruptor, and our site address will still be Redfin.com.

“Our AI algorithms will gain access to new troves of data, which over time we can use to keep our online audience coming back for more, and to guide our customers in every step toward home ownership. We expect that a Redfin.com home-shopper will be able to schedule a home-tour, find out what she can afford, then get pre-qualified for a loan, on-demand, in a matter of minutes. Together, we can be better than ever at building lifelong relationships with customers who need financial advice before their search ever starts, or who want to explore a home-equity loan years after completing a purchase with Redfin. “For now, our agents should keep sending loans to Bay Equity’s loan officers. Once the deal closes, we’ll work together on the best way for these loan officers to join Rocket via Rocket Local, a field-based arm of Rocket Mortgage. Working for Rocket, our lenders should have access to more lending products and competitive rates, even on jumbo loans.

“Our intranet has answers to frequently asked questions and a link to submit questions.

True Government Loan Programs on Yellow Alert

Master FHA & VA Manual Underwriting & Approve More Borrowers! When AUS says "no," manual underwriting gives you a second chance to say "yes!" Don’t let unique financial situations stand in the way… Gain the knowledge to help more borrowers secure FHA and VA loans when AUS falls short. Join Kind Lending’s FHA & VA Manual Underwriting Training and learn how to navigate manual underwriting with confidence, identify eligible borrowers, and streamline the process for faster closings. What You’ll Learn: Key guidelines for FHA & VA manual underwriting, how to identify eligible borrowers, and tips to simplify the process & close loans faster. When: Wednesday, March 20 | 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM PST. Save your seat today! Register for this complimentary training session by clicking here.

At Kind Lending, we empower brokers with the knowledge to win more deals, because when you win, we win! Not a Kind Lending partner yet? Learn more and get started here!

A well-known industry participant, asked which seniors’ issues might be affected by HUD staffing cuts, responded to me, "FHA HECM reverse mortgage loans are one program to keep an eye out for. You have a federal contractor that administers all the HECM loans transferred to HUD when a loan hits 98 percent LTV. And FHFA and Ginnie Mae are dealing with the fallout from the Reverse Mortgage Funding bankruptcy and their lawsuit with Texas Capital Bank.

“In the HUD affordable rental housing space, keep an eye out for the 202 seniors housing program and the Section 8 rent assistance and public housing programs. These programs subsidize rents for millions of low-income seniors who could be affected if there are either HUD staffing cuts or funding cuts to the rent subsidies."

Lenders know that Ginnie Mae securitizes almost all FHA, VA, and RHS (rural housing) loans, which combined were responsible for 80 percent of all low down payment mortgage loans to rural home buyers last year. VA loans are the only zero down payment mortgage loan source available for veterans and active military service members. The FHA program is the bedrock for first-time homebuyers, insuring mortgages for families with credit blemishes and low down payment capabilities while at the same time amassing record net worth and reserve levels.

Last year, 83 percent of FHA purchase money loans were to first time homebuyers compared to only 50% for the rest of the mortgage market. FHA insures 58 percent of low down payment loans with less than 5 percent down to Black homebuyers and insures 64 percent of low down payment mortgage loans to Hispanic homebuyers.

FHA published Mortgagee Letter (ML) 2025-07, Extension of the Foreclosure Moratorium in Connection with Presidentially-Declared Major Disaster Areas in Los Angeles County, California. FHA is extending the automatic foreclosure moratorium that was set to expire on April 8, 2025, by 90 days. The moratorium will now remain in effect through July 7, 2025. The provisions of ML 2025-07 apply to all FHA Title II Single Family forward and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) programs.

USDA announced that 2025 Area Loan Limits are available at https://www.rd.usda.gov/files/RD-SFHAreaLoanLimitMap.pdf.

USDA Rural Development March 4 Bulletin announced the effective date of the Manufactured Housing Provisions Final Rule has been revised to May 5, 2025 as published in the Federal Register.

Pennymac updated FHA guideline for rental incomes from Boarders, view Announcement 25-25 for details.

Pennymac Announcement 25-26 provides information on the ineligibility for VA and FHA manufactured home loans for CEMA Purchase Transactions.

Capital Markets

Some signs of cracks in the economy are emerging. Besides auto loan delinquencies moving higher, the February jobs report presented a mixed picture of the labor market, with payrolls growing by 151k (beating expectations) and the unemployment rate inching up to 4.1 percent. While job growth remained steady, broader labor market indicators, such as the U-6 unemployment rate, signaled underlying weakness. Federal employment saw a modest decline, a trend expected to accelerate with planned workforce reductions. Meanwhile, ongoing tariff uncertainty contributed to the widest trade deficit since 1992 (Robbie's birth year), as businesses rushed to import goods ahead of potential cost increases. In the construction sector, despite a small increase in single-family homebuilding, concerns over rising input costs and labor shortages could dampen future growth.

Markets initially reacted negatively to the report, with bonds selling off, but yields later declined as investors absorbed the data. The report was not weak enough to spur immediate Fed action, keeping a March rate cut off the table at its meeting next week, but markets are increasingly pricing in rate reductions by mid-year. The dot plot will be closely scrutinized, especially around the long-term fed funds rate, which will give us an idea of how far the Fed thinks it needs to go to get to neutrality. Inflation remains stubborn, and with consumer spending showing signs of slowing, businesses may begin reassessing hiring plans. While the economy is not in freefall, persistent challenges (e.g., trade policy uncertainty, government downsizing, and inflationary pressures) continue to cloud the outlook.

This week brings the pivotal Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index reports on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, in addition to the $119 billion in refunding supply to be held over Tuesday to Thursday. Other data releases include JOLTS job openings, the budget statement, and Michigan sentiment. The Fed is in the blackout period ahead of next week’s FOMC meeting. For MBS, Class A and B 48 hours are tomorrow and Friday, respectively. Today’s calendar is light, as if often the case after “unemployment Friday,” and kicks off with the Employment Trends Index for February later this morning. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices better by .125-.250, the 2-year yielding 3.95, and the 10-year yielding 4.24 percent after closing Friday at 4.32 percent as recession talk intensifies.