Here's a brief video refresher of our tax code if anyone needs it. If eight months ago someone had told you to pick a country where there is a mudslinging election for the highest office in the land, the reliability of the post office would be called into question by the leader of the nation (an ex-reality game show producer), neither candidate being viewed as truly representative of the population, the highest court in the land, supposedly apolitical, would be the subject of a political fight, rioting across the country, and claims of voter fraud were heard six weeks in advance, you’d have thought they were talking about some third-world duchy. November 3 “could just be the start.” For good news, the average homeowner gained $9,800 in home equity in the second quarter according to CoreLogic. There are still about 1.7 million homes with negative equity, a problem in a few states (Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, and Arkansas jump to mind), but the home price appreciation of the past decade has largely solved the issue. The housing market remains red hot according to Redfin. The median home price rose 13% YOY to $319k. Active listings fell 28% to an all-time low, while sales prices were 99.3% of listing prices, which is an 11-year high.

Lender Services and Products

Talk about putting your money where your mouth is! Home Point Financial has been a favorite among independent mortgage brokers for a long time because of the role it has have played in growing the broker channel… But Home Point has taken that commitment to a completely new level. Home Point recently announced a new community foundation that will dedicate an initial $1 million to fund 50 new minority-owned and female-owned mortgage brokerages throughout the country. It’s great to see Home Point stepping up to grow the channel in such a meaningful way and provide opportunities for so many people in this industry. Existing mortgage brokers and correspondents that still need to sign up with Home Point should visit its website.

Mortech, a Zillow Group business providing technology solutions for mortgage professionals, announced new integrations with mortgage rate marketplaces Own Up and Mortgage Research Center. Mortech is integrated with more online mortgage marketplaces than any other product and pricing engine in the industry, and continues to provide their lenders with the largest marketplace audience reach available by adding these two platforms to their growing list. Mutual lenders using Mortech to quote rates across industry leading mortgage marketplace partners have the ability to update their pricing in real time so potential borrowers receive the most accurate rate quotes to view and compare. By quoting rates online through Mortech’s scalable and efficient APIs, lenders will see success with lead management and brand visibility by connecting their products and rates with more quality leads. To start quoting your mortgage rates online to more home shoppers, call 1.855.298.9327 or contact Mortech Marketplace via email.  

Episode 010 from the popular Clear to Close podcast with Alan Parris and Bryan Traeger just came out this week. Titled, “A Forgotten History – How the Gov’t Segregated American Neighborhoods” they sit down with Richard Rothstein, author of the highly acclaimed book, “Color of Law,” discussing to what many is an untold story of our history in American housing and its impact to the stark racial inequality in America today. A highly recommended listen throughout your day for any housing professional. Listen, download, and subscribe at your favorite place for podcasts: Apple, Google, Spotify, and Browser.

Now more than ever, consumers are craving advice and guidance from their lenders to build financial confidence and wellness. Join Total Expert Founder & CEO Joe Welu and Chief Customer Officer Sue Woodard to discuss what this looks like in practice and how lenders can position their customers for long-term financial success. Listen here to get their expert tips in 6 minutes.

“NEWBOLD is thrilled to unveil our refreshed brand identity. The update in our logo, website functionality, and social media presence shows the evolution of our company since its founding in 2006. While our look is refreshed, our core beliefs haven’t changed. Your vision will always be our mission. In the spirit of rebranding, we will continue to commit to the highest level of service and professionalism in Strategy, Process Redesign, LOS Implementation, Change Management, Capacity Planning, Project Management, Technology Implementation and Staffing services. Thank you for your trust and friendship. As we celebrate almost 15 years in business, we look forward to the next 15. Take a few minutes to connect with our new brand through our website or LinkedIn. And as always, please do not hesitate to call us any time: 727-535-2102.”

Industry Chatter

2020 will surely be remembered as one of the most tumultuous years in recent history. We have a pandemic and world-wide recession, and yet the mortgage market is expected to set records for origination volume and profitability. As we go into the fourth quarter, what’s to say there won’t be more challenges that cause us to use the “u-word” (unprecedented!) once again? Because of its workshop sessions focused on Operations, Consumer Direct Lending, the Customer Experience, and Capital Markets, STRATMOR Group has a unique window into how mortgage executives feel about and what they think about changes in our industry. In the September Insights Report, Senior Partner Jim Cameron analyzes how lenders tackled one set of concerns in May and then had to adjust tactics to address a different set of concerns in August in his article, “How Will History View 2020? Mortgage Banking Executive Perspectives.” Where are lenders feeling the most pain? Jim tracks the trends from late spring through the summer and adds his insights to this timely discussion. Read the September Insights Report.

Capital Markets

Let’s put it simply: rate sheets aren’t moving. U.S. Treasuries barely budged all day yesterday, and Agency MBS prices tagged along to nowhere as they’ve done pretty much for several weeks. In fact there is unlikely to be much movement in the bond market before the September employment report on Friday unless an agreement over another stimulus bill occurs in Washington or there are new geopolitical developments between the U.S. and China tension. Don’t hold your breath.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Forbearance and Call Volume Survey showed that the total number of loans now in forbearance decreased by 6 basis points to 6.87 percent of servicers’ portfolio volume in the prior week as of September 20. , as did portfolio loans and private-label securities (PLS) (10.52 percent), while the percentage of loans in forbearance for depository servicers decreased (down to 7.11 percent), the same for independent mortgage bank (IMB) servicers (down to 7.23 percent).

Yesterday, the Desk released a new MBS Fed purchase schedule covering the September 29 to October 14 period that totals up to $58.2 billion with all 30-year operations targeting 2 percent and 2.5 percent, and 15-year operations all targeting 1.5 percent and 2 percent. The schedule sees the Fed conducting three FedTrade operations daily except the days a new schedule and reinvestment estimate are released. Today’s operations have the Desk purchasing up to $5.3 billion MBS starting with $892 million UMBS15 1.5 percent and 2 percent followed by $2.9 billion UMBS30 2 percent and 2.5 percent and $1.5 billion GNII 2 percent and 2.5 percent.

Today’s economic calendar is already underway with a couple minor numbers: August’s International Trade in Goods (up to $82.94 billion), Retail & Wholesale Inventories (+.8 and +.5 percent, respectively). Later this morning brings the July S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index, Redbook same store sales, and September Consumer Confidence. We also have a big day of Fed speak, with New York’s Williams, Philadelphia’s Harker, Fed Vice Chair Clarida, and Vice Chair of Supervision Quarles all taking the stage. After the close, at 9PM ET, the first presidential debate will be held. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices unchanged from Monday, and pretty much for many weeks, and the 10-year yielding .65 after closing yesterday at 0.66 percent.

Jobs

Norcom Mortgage has had the most profitable year in its 30-year history, and has significant plans to continue. Norcom has thrived through various business cycles by investing in marketing and providing continued support for LOs as it expands. (The company has branches stretching from Maine to Florida and out to California, and is licensed in over 30 states.) For example, with Norcom, all Loan Originators receive comprehensive, complementary in-house marketing support including digital, social, and traditional media to help you do your job. If you’re an LO lacking the marketing support you need to grow your business, watch this video from Norcom’s own.

“Better than ever! Stronger than ever! Mr. Cooper Correspondent is running on all cylinders and achieving record volumes thanks to our loyal clients and our impressive client growth. While we are excited to achieve record volumes, we are not compromising service levels as we are investing heavily into our people, process, and technology to drive strong turn times. Recent developments include FHA Xpress, expansion of our Non-Delegated program and pricing enhancements to our 75-Day Rate Lock; also, we’re rapidly growing our Co-Issue business! And there’s more to come! Contact your Regional Sales Team to learn more! We’re significantly growing our team and looking to add Client Relationship Managers, Suspense Representatives and Underwriters. If you’d like to be part of the Cooper family, contact Pamela Peak. Mr. Cooper is a Top Correspondent Lender, proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work and the largest non-bank servicer with a portfolio of $600B+.”

While other mortgage companies are developing or learning how to find ways to introduce automation into their processes, Wyndham Capital Mortgage is already up and running as a Fintech Mortgage Lender, bringing years of investment and information into new technologies to the industry, including processes driven by teams of robots. Robots? Yes, robots. Wyndham Capital's robotic Intelligent Automation systems work around-the-clock to eliminate millions of menial, time-consuming tasks within the loan process. This allows our loan officers to have a more focused, efficient use of their day, which allows for more loans closed and more experienced gained in less time. Through Intelligent Automation, Wyndham Capital has saved over 4,000 employee hours of work per month, which correlates into more success, a better work/life balance and a more efficient process for our loan officers. Find out more at JoinWyndham.com.

Sourcepoint, a partner of choice for leading mortgage companies, is rapidly growing and seeking high performing Underwriters with 4+ years of direct experience. You'll be responsible for reviewing, analyzing, and underwriting both first and second mortgage loans for top mortgage brands. Positions require an associate degree, in-depth knowledge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac underwriting guidelines and automated underwriting engines, as well as strong customer service, communication, and problem-solving skills. Sourcepoint offers a continuous learning culture with opportunities to boost your skills, performance, and growth. If you are detail-oriented with a passion to help borrowers in their quest for home ownership, we want to talk to you. Email Katrina Gaer for more information or apply today.

Want to join the firm that is ranked the nation’s #1 VA, GNMA and FHA lender for the first half of the year according to Inside Mortgage Finance? The firm that just surpassed a $14B origination month, bolstered by a loan portfolio of over $300 billion in assets AND has some of the happiest employees in mortgage banking according to Glassdoor? The time is NOW to join Freedom Mortgage: bit.ly/SoarWithFreedom. Freedom is safely and remotely hiring thousands in several areas including: underwriting, processing, closing, sales, finance, IT and more! Come #SoarWithUs. 

Shamrock Home Loans, headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, is excited to announce that leading industry veteran Dr. Rick Roque has begun working with the Shamrock Home Loan team as VP of Retail, whose focus is sales operational growth of Shamrock’s retail offering. Rick has a strong reputation for growing mortgage platforms, and given the right environment open to change, he has a track record of retail growth. “I am impressed with Shamrock’s 30-year history of retaining employees who love to come to work with a strict culture built around on time closings”, Rick stated. Licensed in New York and the New England region, along with select states along the East Coast, "our desire for growth is real, but never at the expense of our current employees and existing referral partners", says Dean Harrington, Founder and CEO of Shamrock Home Loans. For information for Loan Officers and Branch Managers, contact info@shamrockhomeloans.com.