Author: PROGRESS In Lending

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate by a quarter point Wednesday, lifting interest rates to their highest level in 22 years, which has many in the mortgage industry predicting more tough times ahead.

FirstClose, Inc., a fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, has integrated its home equity settlement services ordering module within FirstClose Equity to Calyx Software’s Point loan origination system.

Down Payment Resource (DPR), a provider of technology for connecting homebuyers with homebuyer assistance programs, issued its Q2 2023 Homeownership Program Index (HPI). The firm’s analysis revealed a second consecutive quarterly uptick of 0.5% in the number of homebuyer assistance programs available to help people finance homes, raising the number of programs to 2,373.

In an effort to help lenders quickly and easily verify income and employment information, Experian announced consumers can now choose to share information directly from their employers’ payroll service through Experian Verify when applying for credit, including mortgages, auto loans and personal loans.

A coalition of housing industry and advocacy organizations have written to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, strongly urging they not raise capital standards for bank-originated mortgages with down payments below 20%. The letter was signed by the National Housing Conference, the NAACP, the National Urban League, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and the National Association of REALTORS®.

Snapdocs, a digital closing provider, has launched Connected Closings, an integration between the Snapdocs Digital Closing and Notary Scheduling platforms. With Connected Closings, Snapdocs customers reduce closing times by at least a day and a half, settlement companies return scanbacks two-times faster by eliminating manual tasks, and borrowers electronically sign documents prior to the closing appointment more than 90% of the time. Snapdocs lender and settlement customers using Connected Closings include The Federal Savings Bank and BCHH, a leading provider of real estate title and closing nationwide.

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Bill Killmer, MBA’s Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs, issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Tribal Trust Land Homeownership Act of 2023:

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) monthly Loan Monitoring Survey revealed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 5 basis points to 0.44% of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior month from 0.49% as of June 30, 2023. According to MBA’s estimate, 220,000 homeowners are in forbearance plans. Mortgage servicers have provided forbearance to approximately 7.9 million borrowers since March 2020.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Builder Application Survey (BAS) data for June 2023 shows mortgage applications for new home purchases increased 26.1 percent compared from a year ago. Compared to May 2023, applications decreased by 5 percent. This change does not include any adjustment for typical seasonal patterns.