Industry Trends

Mortgage lenders navigating today’s unpredictable environment need more than resilience—they need strategic agility. That’s the core message from STRATMOR Group Senior Partner Garth Graham, who shares practical recommendations for staying competitive amid policy shifts, rate volatility, and shrinking margins in the mortgage advisory firm’s latest Insights Report.

Cotality, a global property information, analytics, and data-enabled solutions provider, released its latest findings on the housing and mortgage markets. While the spring homebuying season is in full swing, homebuying activity continues to be challenged by elevated and volatile mortgage rates as well as affordability challenges resulting from surging costs of insurance and property taxes. These market dynamics are putting pressure on existing homeowners as well as future buyers. At the same time, pockets of homebuyers are benefiting from increased for-sale inventories and a slower rate of home price appreciation, particularly among condominium homes.

Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) released its yearly research study report titled, “CHLA 2024 Report on Independent Mortgage Banks.” Here’s what it found:

Both the unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.1 million, changed little in November. These measures are higher than a year earlier, when the jobless rate was 3.7 percent, and the number of unemployed people was 6.3 million, which may have implications for the mortgage industry.

Optimal Blue will host its inaugural Optimal Blue Summit from February 3-5, 2025, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina.

Independent mortgage banks (IMBs) and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks reported a pre-tax net profit of $693 on each loan they originated in the second quarter of 2024, an increase from the reported loss of $645 per loan in the first quarter of 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) newly released Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report.

Down Payment Resource (DPR), an authority on homebuyer assistance program data and solutions, reports that homebuyer assistance program administrators are responding to the mounting home affordability crisis by rapidly rolling out new homebuyer assistance programs and funding buydowns.

Down Payment Resource (DPR), a technology for connecting home buyers with homebuyer assistance programs, has onboarded six mortgage lenders this September. DPR’s expanded client base includes Elevations Credit Union, Embrace Home Loans, Homeowners Financial Group, HomeStreet Bank, RWM Home Loans and a regional bank. This significant milestone reflects the growing need for solutions that promote accessible and sustainable homeownership.

Total commercial and multifamily mortgage borrowing and lending is expected to fall to $442 billion this year, which is a 46 percent decline from 2022’s total of $816 billion. This is according to an updated baseline forecast released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).