Sports have a lot of fans, and heroes. With only 10 days until Halloween, what a great time of year to be a sports fanatic. You never have to leave your den, or local sports bar, when football, baseball, basketball, and hockey are all on TV, and if you look around you can find golf and tennis! What isn’t a great time is if you’re either lending or borrowing in Florida on a condo. With Provident Funding announcing that it is bailing on condos, at some point it will be harder to finance condos than co-ops. It’s also the time of year when a) lenders and vendors are trying to forecast and budget for 2025, b) notices for organizational holiday parties begin being sent out, and c) Costco is stocking Valentines Day items in its warehouses. Speaking of Costco, the company has entered the housing business, in a manner of sorts. Costco stocks tiny houses, playhouses, and garden sheds. So does Amazon: page down once or twice. (Today’s podcast can be found here, and this week’s is sponsored by nCino, makers of the nCino Mortgage Suite for the modern mortgage lender. nCino Mortgage Suite's three core products, nCino Mortgage, nCino Incentive Compensation, and nCino Mortgage Analytics, unite the people, systems, and stages of the mortgage process. Hear an interview with Wilqo’s Rob Katz on the biggest issues mortgage bankers are facing today and how companies should be planning for 2025.)

Lender and Broker Software, Services, and Products

By enhancing connectivity between originators, warehouse lenders, investors, and doc custodians, OptiFunder provides a fully digitized and automated solution, transforming the warehouse lending process and streamlining operations for mortgage originators. OptiFunder’s Warehouse Management System (WMS) is an essential tool, funding approximately one in every seven loans in the market. By leveraging its extensive network and proactively collaborating with warehouse lenders to fulfill unaddressed needs, OptiFunder introduced a revolutionary platform for warehouse lenders. Replicating the operational efficiencies and connectivity it provides to mortgage originators, Greyhound WMS provides a modern-day, configurable framework to meet warehouse lenders’ unique needs. An alternative to legacy platforms, Greyhound connects warehouse lenders with originators, streamlines complex workflows and enhances process automation for efficient funding, shipping, and paydown requests. Meet with the OptiFunder team at MBA Annual or schedule a Greyhound Demo to learn more. Sign up for OptiFunder’s Monthly Warehouse Lending Report here.

Maxwell’s Sidelined Home Buyer Report shows 40% of prospective buyers haven’t yet connected with a lender. As rate cuts materialize and inventory recovers, sidelined home buyers will begin to take action. Maxwell surveyed 1,000 would-be buyers to dig into their plans as they look to enter the market over the next year. The data gives insight into this segment: Many say they’ll look to buy when rates hit 5.5%, and nearly 80% say they’re “somewhat” or “very” prepared to purchase once rates fall. Nearly 40% haven’t yet connected with a lender. Want to gain more exclusive insight into a group of home buyers who will drive loan activity in 2025? Click here to get your free copy of Maxwell’s Sidelined Home Buyer Report.

“Do costly, slow credit report updates delay your mortgage process? Instant supplements from Informative Research provide a faster, more affordable solution. Traditional credit supplements require days of verification, adding unnecessary time and expenses, especially with rising credit reporting costs. With instant supplements, lenders receive real-time updates, streamlining the process and significantly reducing overhead. Discover how lenders are maximizing the benefits of Informative Research’s solutions by utilizing instant credit supplements to reduce delays and costs, as discussed in our latest blog. As the mortgage industry evolves, staying competitive requires efficient, data-driven technology. Informative Research is helping its customers streamline operations and improve efficiency through innovations like instant supplements. Visit us at Booth #317 during MBA’s Annual Conference in Denver from October 27 to 30 to learn more about how our solutions can help your business.”

Sometimes to move forward, you have to look back. In Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, a time traveler from the future takes the title characters on a journey through history so they can ace their history report, finish high school, become rock stars, and bring everlasting peace to the universe through their face-melting music. When it comes to reverse mortgage lending, Smartfi is revolutionizing the market by empowering brokers to offer reverse mortgages using already familiar forward-facing technologies such as LoanPASS. Using LoanPASS, Smartfi doubled its broker network, reduced product configuration time to mere minutes, and stabilized its profit margins across all loan products. Discover product pricing and decisioning support for any product in any vertical. Read the case study. It’s totally tubular! Or drop by booth #335 at MBA Annual next week and hear about it in person.

Wholesaler and Correspondent News

According to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data, the mortgage industry left $200 million in net revenue behind in 2023… Are you ready to stop leaving money on the table? Discover how reverse mortgages offer a unique value proposition, empowering you to serve the growing market of seniors who hold a wealth of untapped home equity. Longbridge Financial, LLC’s (NMLS #957935) new initiative, A Blueprint for Reverse Mortgage Success, is designed to give you the tools and strategies needed to capitalize on this massive opportunity. Understanding the potential of reverse mortgages is just the beginning… You need a clear blueprint to successfully integrate them into your business. Don’t miss this chance to expand your offerings and tap into a market with immense growth potential. Heading to MBA? Schedule a meeting with Longbridge CEO Chris Mayer! Can’t make it? Contact Adrian Prieto, SVP of Wholesale & Third-Party Relationships to learn more.

TPO Go Launches TPO Go University, Establishes Position as Educational Resource! Wholesaler TPO Go has established a unique position for itself as an educational resource for broker and correspondent partners, launching TPO Go University, a mortgage education platform that presents online webinars, training from industry experts, and broker certification programs, all free. Phil DeFronzo, President and CEO commented, “At TPO Go, we have always believed in the power of knowledge sharing and have many training and educational programs within our organization. Now we’re taking that to another level for our partners to help power up their businesses. We’ve had tremendous response and positive feedback, so we look forward to continuing and building on our success for the mutual benefit of our teams and our partners.” TPO Go is a leading wholesale residential lender, offering an exceptional experience for broker and correspondent partners and their borrowers. Become a partner here.

Catastrophe and Disaster Updates

It is widely accepted that warmer ocean temperatures are driving storm intensity, which in turn drive property damage in the United States and other countries, which in turn drive insurance costs across the nation.

Joe Uzee, the President of the Mortgage Lending Division at Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Co. writes, “In Louisiana we have been navigating high insurance premiums for well over a decade. Now that higher insurance premiums are becoming an issue nationwide due to widespread disasters, I am often contacted by peers across the country asking how to navigate.

“Over the last several years, as I attended national mortgage conferences, my peers were always talking about the negative effects of higher interest rates. I always said the rate is the rate now, but that high insurance premiums are killing home affordability in Louisiana. It is now becoming a national issue suddenly. I am proud of what we started in our little old state of Louisiana. GNO Inc., headed by Michael Hecht, is not only a driver of economic development for our region, but also on the forefront of insurance reform. Since 2013 GNO Inc. has led the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance (CSFI). Back in 2013 it was just the voices of Louisiana’s lawmakers and the voices of Louisiana’s lenders speaking out. Is the nation finally listening?

“Here is a recent interview with Michael Hecht, President & CEO of Greater New Orleans, Inc., focusing on national catastrophic insurance (“Nat Cat”), flood insurance, and storm resilience. Maybe the concept of Nat Cat could become the new model for FEMA.” Thank you, Joe.

FEMA has been busy. Georgia Hurricane Helene DR-4830. North Carolina Tropical Storm Helene DR-4827. Alaska Flooding DR-4836. Florida Hurricane Milton DR-4834. Virginia Tropical Storm Helene DR-4831. Florida Hurricane Helene DR-4828. South Carolina Hurricane Helene DR-4829.

Fannie Mae resources for servicers aiding borrowers affected by recent severe weather. Free, multi-language disaster recovery counseling services are available to homeowners by calling 855-HERE2HELP (855-437-3243) or visiting Fannie Mae’s Disaster Support page.

Fannie Mae issued a reminder to homeowners and renters impacted by natural disasters, including those affected by Hurricane Milton, of available mortgage assistance and disaster relief options. Mortgage servicers also are reminded of options to assist homeowners under Fannie Mae’s guidelines during these circumstances. Homeowners and renters should call 855-HERE2HELP (855-437-3243) to access Fannie Mae’s disaster recovery counseling* or visit the Fannie Mae website for more information.

Freddie Mac issued a reminder to homeowners and mortgage servicers of its immediate relief options for those impacted by Hurricane Milton. Freddie Mac’s forbearance program provides homeowners mortgage relief for up to 12 months without incurring late fees or penalties.

Federal and state financial regulatory agencies issued an interagency statement on supervisory practices regarding financial institutions affected by Hurricane Milton.

On 10/4/2024, with Amendment No. 3 to DR-4830, FEMA declared federal disaster aid with individual assistance to 8 additional counties affected by Georgia Hurricane Helene from 9/24/2024 and continuing. See the attached announcement for inspection requirements. AmeriHome Disaster Announcement 20241017-CL.

On 10/16/2024, with Amendment No. 7 to DR-4830, FEMA declared federal disaster aid with individual assistance has been made available to Georgia’s Taliaferro county affected by Hurricane Helene, see AmeriHome Disaster Announcement 20241028-CL for inspection requirements.

On 10/16/2024, with DR-4836, FEMA declared federal disaster aid with individual assistance to 1 borough in Alaska affected by flooding on 8/5/2024 through 8/6/2024. See AmeriHome Disaster Announcement 20241029-CL for inspection requirements.

On 10/4/2024, with Amendment No. 2 to DR-4827, FEMA declared federal disaster aid with individual assistance to Mecklenburg and Swain counties affected by North Carolina Tropical Storm Helene. Details available in AmeriHome Disaster Announcement 20241016-CL.

On 10/15/2024, with Amendment No. 3 to DR-4827, FEMA declared federal disaster aid with individual assistance to 12 North Carolina counties affected by Tropical Storm Helene, See

AmeriHome Disaster Announcement 20241027-CL.

On 10/14/2024, with a Press Release, FEMA declared federal disaster aid with individual assistance has been made available to Virginia’s Scott county affected by Tropical Storm Helene from 9/25/2024 and continuing. View AmeriHome Disaster Announcement 20241025-CL for details.

In addition to the previously declared counties listed below, the following disaster declaration is being issued or modified today pertaining to: North Carolina DR-4827: additional counties declared. Alaska DR-4836: new disaster declared. Georgia DR-4830: additional county declared. Florida DR-4834: new disaster declared. Virginia DR-4831: additional counties declared. South Carolina DR-4829: additional counties declared. Reference PHH Mortgage announcements for all disaster declared counties, requirements, procedures, and conditions.

Capital Markets

Last week’s economic data reinforced some recent trends: namely, that consumer demand remains healthy while interest-rate-sensitive industries continue to muddle through. Retail sales for September rose 0.4 percent month-over-month and 1.7 percent from September 2023. The gains come despite core goods prices declining for much of 2024. Meanwhile, industrial production fell 0.3 percent, likely impacted by the Boeing strike as well as Hurricane Helene. Residential construction declined in September with housing starts falling 0.5 percent to a 1,354k-unit annual pace and permits falling 2.9 percent. Both starts and permits varied across regions after showing across-the-board growth in August.

Despite the Federal Reserve beginning to recalibrate its restrictive monetary policy stance, the temporary reprieve in mortgage rates has passed and rates have moved higher throughout October given the overall strength of the economy. With only 50-basis points of additional cuts to the fed funds rate expected this year, the path to lower rates will likely be slower than many had hoped throughout the summer. This is the final week for public Fed remarks before members go into their blackout period in preparation for the November 6-7 FOMC meeting.

This week’s highlights, if you can even call them that, include the PMI October flashes from S&P Global and Treasury auctions of $13 billion reopened 20-year bonds and $24 billion new 5-year TIPS. Today’s data and supply activity are nothing to roil markets and kick off with September leading indicators. Three Fed appearances are on the schedule: Dallas President Logan, Minneapolis President Kashkari, and Kansas City President Schmid. Monday starts with Agency MBS prices worse about .125 versus Friday night, the 10-year yielding 4.13 after closing last week at 4.07 percent, and the 2-year at 3.98.