Okay, tomorrow is a holiday for many, but let’s not forget those veterans during the rest of the year. (Warning: tissues required.) Switching gears 180 degrees, say hello to Nevada’s new state Treasurer. (Warning: rated PG?) Moving back to mortgages and real estate, as reported in the commentary, not only was Redfin (parent of Bay Equity) downgraded, but it is shutting its home-flipping business and has cut 13% of its workforce. Yesterday the commentary noted that, “The retail portion of Angel Oak Home Loans rumored to be heading to Cross Country, who just supposedly laid off 100 people in Colorado.” The report of the layoff is erroneous, and apparently sprang from a disgruntled employee. “Money can’t buy happiness. But poverty can’t buy anything, so get to work!” It certainly takes money to buy a house, and there is more below on home buying, but only 16% of respondents said that now is a good time to buy a home per October’s Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI). The full index is down 18.8 points year over year. Interestingly, the percentage who believe now is a good time to sell decreased abruptly from 59% to 51% in October. (Today’s podcast is available here and this week’s is sponsored by SimpleNexus, an nCino company and award-winning developer of mobile-first technology for the modern mortgage lender. Listen to an interview with Optifunder’s Mike McFadden on warehouse management, optimizing funding and purchase advices.)

Lender and Broker Services, Software, and Products

After losing the 2021 World Series, the Houston Astros put in the work to revisit baseball’s biggest stage and come away with a different result. Similarly, Sales Boomerang’s latest Mortgage Market Opportunities Report suggests following the Astros’ lead and revisiting prospects previously turned down for credit-related reasons, as credit improvement alerts increased in frequency for a third consecutive quarter. For additional analysis on the current state of borrower needs, check out the full Mortgage Market Opportunities Report.

Have you ever wondered how appraisers choose comparable properties to determine a valuation? More research goes into this process than meets the eye; and it doesn’t all make it into the final appraisal report. Learn more with our article When is a Comparable… Comparable? Brought to you by Triserv, a 50-state AMC that has client-specific, dedicated teams on both coasts offering high-touch, personalized service. To find out more, contact Triserv Appraisal Management Solutions.

Renewal season is here! Demo the License Tracking and Management (“LTM”) PaaS solution that automates the company, branch, and mortgage loan originator licensing process. The LTM solution addresses the lack of plug ‘n play technology in the mortgage licensing arena with a robust and dynamic solution. Import renewal data into the solution and produce reports grouped by stakeholder and minimum training thresholds, on your timeline. Dashboards deliver real-time data on license status, expiration dates, and license items. Capture valuable data to inform strategic decisions such as average days to approved status or days to clear license items. Leave behind the inefficiency that comes from managing multiple static spreadsheets and use the solution built to manage the process, all while it seamlessly provides trending, reporting, user-specific access, and automation to keep your licensing current. Monthly subscription option available. Schedule a demo to explore a better way to manage licensing through.

Attention Wholesale Lenders! Why spend the time and money building your own CRM with Salesforce or Hubspot when you can implement OptifiNow TPO in just 30 days and at a fraction of the cost? OptifiNow TPO has proven features that make your account executives more efficient and simplifies management of marketing campaigns. OptifiNow TPO's latest feature is the RateSheet Distributor, a tool that streamlines rate sheet email campaign management. Simply upload the latest version of your rate sheet and RateSheet Distributor provides complete control over the timing and targeting of campaigns. Intraday price changes, multiple rate sheet types and integration with lock desk processes are all supported. This is just one example of how OptifiNow TPO is the only CRM solution that really understands wholesale lenders and delivers capabilities that make a difference. Schedule a demonstration and learn why more wholesale lenders are switching to OptifiNow TPO!

Who’s Out There Buying?

What is happening in the union between the primary and secondary markets? The current blog on the STRATMOR Group’s website is “Supply and Demand are Still Driving Mortgage Pricing”. As noted above, only 16% of respondents said that now is a good time to buy a home per October’s Fannie Mae Home Purchase Sentiment Index (HPSI).

Kristin Messerli dug in as well, and has brought out the third annual NextGen Homebuyer Report, sponsored by National MI. Kristin writes, “This year’s research focused on identifying the perceived challenges and confidence of today’s NextGen consumers, looking for differences or disparities across demographics and building from previous years’ research findings.

“In the midst of a housing crisis, the responses were unsurprisingly grim when it came to confidence in the market and experts, and uncertainty took center stage. Personal financial knowledge was rated as the third biggest challenge to the NextGen financial situation this year, behind high cost of living and mental health or anxiety. Only half of respondents said they have the financial advice or support they need to achieve their financial goals and that was further compounded by gender, race, and income.

“While there are many barriers for Gen Z and Millennial homebuyers today, this research provides actionable insights for housing and financial professionals to meet their needs and grow their business with the next generation. The survey collected responses from more than 1,000 U.S. adults between the ages of 18-44, representing both Gen Z and Millennial homebuyers and includes statistically significant representation across race, ethnicity, gender, education, and income. The report slides are here, and here is a link to the report website.” Thank you, Kristin.

Capital Markets: CPI and Five Fed Speakers

MCT’s award-winning Investor Services technology opens the door for residential mortgage investors to help scale their seller base, automate the bid process, source whole loan and flow co-issue production, automate AOTs, and analyze performance all in a cost-effective manner. Watch this short video to learn how MCT’s Investor Services division pairs industry leading expertise with products such as BAM Marketplace, allowing buyers to bid regardless of approval status and sellers to receive automated live pricing from every buyer on the platform. The video also highlights Investor Analytics, which provides a historical database of best execution analysis and loan sales, and CRA Marketplace, a tool to let investors filter through the MCT seller’s pipeline of loans to gain transparency into what type of CRA loans are available. To ensure you receive new content with meaningful macro trends and insights when published, please join our newsletter.

Turning to the secondary markets, Ginnie Mae’s MBS portfolio outstanding grew to $2.3 trillion in October, boosted by $37 billion of total MBS issuance, leading to $23 billion of net growth. October’s new MBS issuance supports the financing of more than 125,000 households, including more than 57,000 first-time homebuyers. Approximately 70 percent of October MBS issuance reflects new mortgages that support home purchases, as refinance activity continued to decline due to higher mortgage rates. The October issuance includes $36.25 billion of Ginnie Mae II MBS and $1.43 billion of Ginnie Mae I MBS, including approximately $1.32 billion in loans for multifamily housing. “Ginnie Mae’s role as an essential source of mortgage finance is clearly illustrated by the strong growth in our total portfolio and the large share of MBS supporting first-time homebuyers,” said Ginnie Mae President Alanna McCargo. “The steepest increase in mortgage rates in decades is a headwind for homebuyers, but Ginnie Mae’s guaranty and insuring agency partners are here with products and programs to help consumers achieve their dream of homeownership.” For more information on monthly MBS issuance, UPB, REMIC monthly issuance, and global market analysis, visit Ginnie Mae Disclosure.

In terms of interest rates, yesterday was another quiet day for mortgage-backed securities, and thus pricing engines, and rates ahead of today’s CPI reading. We had some international news (cooling inflation in China, if you can believe the numbers, the British Prime Minister considering an increase to the top income tax rate) and the midterm elections (and lack of materialization of a red wave) to digest in the U.S. A pullback in Treasuries and MBS accelerated after the completion of yesterday's $35 billion 10-year note auction, which met dismal demand. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow forecast for Q4 GDP growth was increased to 4.0 percent from 3.6 percent in the previous estimate, which may embolden the Fed to maintain its aggressive hiking pace. What recession?

Today brings the all-important Consumer Price Index report for October. CPI increased (+.4 percent, core +.3 percent, both lower than expected). We’ve also received weekly initial jobless claims (225k). Later this morning brings Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Treasury auctions of 20-year bonds and reopened 10-year TIPS, and the October budget deficit. Five Fed speakers are scheduled to deliver remarks. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices better by .5-.75 and the 10-year yielding 3.96 after closing yesterday at 4.15 percent after the great CPI number suggests that inflation may have peaked.

MLO Jobs

There is no doubt that today’s housing market has created new obstacles. Great lenders, however, find ways to create what’s next and Sierra Pacific Mortgage (SPM) is doing just that. Through our FastTrack program, we offer a digital income and asset validation process that requires no paper chasing and clients can walk away with a fully underwritten approval with a commitment to lend in as little as 45 minutes. Now that’s what we call unsurpassed speed! By providing our originators with cutting-edge technology we improve the efficiency of the mortgage process, increase overall client satisfaction, and incentivize referrals to partner with our team – all of which helps you grow your business. If you're interested in learning why so many others are making the move to our Retail Channel, we'd love to chat. Contact our Divisional Sales Leaders today.

“Retail requires reach. At Planet Home Lending, not only do we have branches across the country and down the street, including a new branch joining us in Pennsylvania, we also have the loan products to help you reach all sorts of borrowers. Conventional? Jumbo? Refi and reno? All that and more. But we also have the niche products you need to reach more borrowers and close more loans. Cash 4 Homes lets your buyers compete with all-cash offers. One Time Close combines construction and permanent financing. And 2-1 Buydowns help REALTORS® and builders move units. There’s no better time to reach out to Eastern Regional VP Kathryn Edelen (301-502-2493), Western Regional VP Lynette Hale-Lee (818-321-1260), or VP of Talent Acquisition Peter Briggs (435-709-6287). Shouldn’t you #LandAtPlanet?”