News
Baby boomers leverage soaring home equity to dominate 2026 housing market
12+ hour, 12+ min ago (368+ words) Flush with record-high home equity, baby boomers are continuing their reign as the most dominant force in the U. S. real estate market, leaving affordability-squeezed first-time buyers struggling to keep pace. Adults ages 61 to 79 accounted for 42% of all homebuyers and 55% of all…...
Home builder confidence drops sharply in April
16+ hour, 27+ min ago (414+ words) Home builder confidence declined sharply in April as the Iran war squashed optimism that new-home construction could stage a modest recovery in the second half of 2026. Updating their widely cited builder sentiment survey on Wednesday, the National Association of Home…...
Mortgage originators looking beyond pay as recruiting heats up
2+ week, 23+ hour ago (1126+ words) Franco Terango is the CEO of Certainty Home Lending, a national mortgage lending and fintech business. He has been a leader in the financial services industry for more than 30 years and his career has traversed four lines of business, including…...
Purchase mortgage demand posts annual decline for second consecutive week
19+ hour, 55+ min ago (373+ words) Purchase mortgage applications posted their second consecutive week of annual declines as homebuying trends in April continue to reflect economic volatility stemming from the Iran war. In its latest weekly report of mortgage demand, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said…...
43. 7% of first-quarter mortgage transactions flagged for fraud risk: Funding Shield
1+ day, 13+ hour ago (283+ words) Nearly 44% of mortgage transactions in the first quarter of 2026 were flagged for significant wire and title fraud risks " an increasing problem in the real estate finance industry " according to a recently released report by the fintech firm Funding Shield. While…...
Mike Eising examines mortgage risk management through the lens of personal loss
1+ day, 12+ hour ago (886+ words) When you read a book about mortgage compliance (we know your shelves are stocked), you might not expect it to be prompted by a family tragedy. Or to include references to Plato, Albert Einstein and Homer Simpson. Then again, not…...
New-home mortgage demand explodes in March
1+ day, 18+ hour ago (314+ words) Purchase mortgage applications for newly built homes outperformed in March even as borrowing costs rose sharply in the first month of the Iran war, according to newly released figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). New-home purchase applications were 11% higher…...
Non-QM, FHA channels power March mortgage lock volumes
1+ day, 15+ hour ago (303+ words) Mortgage rate-lock activity increased 13% over the month in March to land about 26% higher than year-ago levels, as purchase demand proved resilient despite higher borrowing costs. Adjustable-rate mortgages saw their monthly production share rise to its highest levels since late 2022, according…...
Average new mortgage payments dip to $1, 942, but Gen Z buyers feel the squeeze
1+ day, 14+ hour ago (475+ words) The average monthly payment on a new U. S. mortgage fell 2. 4% to $1, 942 in 2025, but 1 in 4 new borrowers are still devoting at least 30% of their income to housing costs. A recent analysis by Lending Tree highlights an ongoing housing affordability challenge despite a…...
Spring homebuyers shrug off volatility as purchase lock volumes rise in March
5+ day, 12+ hour ago (292+ words) The residential mortgage market experienced a healthy boost in activity in March, with total lock volume increasing by 9. 38% month over month as prospective homebuyers drove a significant surge in purchase applications. That's according to data released this week by Mortgage…...