Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders

Truework is a comprehensive income and employment verification platform that fully replaces manual in-house waterfalls and provides mortgage lenders with a single automated solution to run their verification processes. With Truework, lenders see up to 50% cost savings on verifications while increasing speed, accuracy, and R&W relief. We also offer free pre-approvals to help you qualify borrowers faster—only pay when we complete a file. Trusted by 4 of the top 5 lenders in the U.S., Truework is built to deliver results. Learn more.

Servicing is more complex than ever - and there’s less room for inefficiency. At this month’s MBA Servicing Solutions Conference in Dallas, First American is inviting servicers to rethink how they manage risk, compliance, and performance across the servicing lifecycle. Book a meeting with us. With trusted data, proven technology, and deep servicing expertise, First American helps servicers reduce manual work, gain clearer visibility into collateral risk, and improve decision making - without adding operational friction. If you’re focused on improving efficiency while navigating today’s regulatory environment, we’d welcome the opportunity to connect at MBA Servicing. Schedule your meeting now.

Leading wholesale lender Flyhomes is helping save money on origination fees on Buy Before You Sell with Instant Equity 1st lien loans. Whether your borrowers want to unlock home equity early or eliminate monthly payments on their departing home, Instant Equity can help them move into their next home before selling the old one. And because the fees are based on the loan amount, not the home value, borrowers can save up to 80 percent compared to other options. Over the past 10 years, Flyhomes has helped 5,000+ buyers move into their next home. On average, LOs close 1.2 more loans per month with Buy Before You Sell, now available nationwide. Book a call today to learn more or sign up for the weekly open house for a live walkthrough and Q&A.

The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the mortgage industry to be viewed by lenders in a very cost-effective manner. We’re adding new providers daily, so check back often to see what’s new. To reserve your place or learn more, contact us at info@chrismancommentary.com.

Thought Leadership: Rolling Out New Tech Needs a Solid Path

Mortgage technology has absorbed billions in investment, yet productivity inside lending operations has barely budged in seven years. Why? Because most tools are built for ideal workflows that rarely exist in the real world. This article digs into why “happy path” tech keeps failing, what actually drives meaningful productivity gains, and how designing for how work really happens may be the industry’s biggest untapped opportunity. The current Thought Leadership piece is about innovation and technology. Enterprise mortgage tech has spent years optimizing the happy path while real productivity gains get lost in exception handling. Truework founder Ethan Winchell argues the fix is not more data but better orchestration and tighter user driven iteration where work actually happens.

Non-Agency Products For Niche Scenarios

As part of the Foundation Fridays broker education series, join Foundation Mortgage Corp. on February 6 at 2 PM ET for Turning Challenges into Closings: Non-QM Opportunities in Today’s Market. Featuring Sam Bjelac, Alexander Inda, and Joseph Inda, this session is built for brokers navigating tighter underwriting and more complex borrower profiles. The team will walk through real-world case studies, highlight high-demand programs such as DSCR, Bank Statement, and Foreign National loans, and share practical, compliance-friendly talking points you can use immediately. Designed for today’s market, this webinar shows how to turn stalled files into funded deals using a common-sense approach.

“Yes, Symmetry offers NOO HELOCs! We offer HELOCs on investment properties in both first and second lien positions, providing a powerful alternative to traditional loans. This solution works especially well for investors because it offers the flexibility needed to manage multiple properties, access available equity when needed, and maintain control through additional repayment options. During the draw period, borrowers can take advantage of interest-only payments plus an annual fee, along with an open-ended line of credit structure that allows them to reuse available funds as needed. The product is ideal for cash-flowing rental portfolios and features simple draw access and competitive rates. Whether your client is expanding their rental portfolio or looking for a smarter way to tap into existing equity, our HELOC gives them control with speed and ease. Let’s talk about how this can fit into your borrowers’ investment strategy. Symmetry Lending.”

“Have you heard about eRESI’s Non-QM Heroes campaign? We’re celebrating the non-QM professionals who are driving change and leading innovation across the industry. Know a non-QM Hero on your team? Nominate them using this form and highlight their impact. You’ll both receive exclusive non-QM Hero swag, plus a chance to win Meta Glasses and be featured in our Non-QM Hall of Fame. eRESI is proud to sponsor the HousingWire Housing Economic Summit (Feb 10, Dallas) and MCT Exchange 2026 (Feb 12–13, San Diego), where Lisa Schreiber will speak on the “Expand Beyond Agency Production” panel. Connect with our team on-site to learn how our best-in-class execution helps lenders drive reliable, scalable growth. Can’t attend in person? Join our February 18 webinar: our credit team will explore key non-QM scenarios that help lenders deliver the best solutions to their borrowers. Contact us to learn more.”

Pennymac Announcement 26-08. Pennymac updated Jumbo LLPAs effective for all Best-Efforts Commitments taken on or after Wednesday, January 28, 2025. For details, view Pennymac Announcement 26-08.

Effective for all Best Efforts Commitments taken on or after Thursday, January 29, 2026, Pennymac updated Non-QM LLPAs as shown in Pennymac Announcement 26-09.

Citi Correspondent Lending recently rolled out expanded credit parameters for their Non-Agency Jumbo program, the first in a series of planned 2026 strategic initiatives. These changes are effective for new loan registrations on or after January 18, 2026. Key highlights of this expansion include increased maximum loan amounts for primary and second home transactions, and expanded cash-out limit for refinance transactions.

Newrez’s Yosemite Jumbo AUS product guidelines have been updated, effective with new locks on and after January 29, 2026. View the Newrez announcement for details.

Effective with pipeline loans, Newrez Smart Series product summary and underwriting guide have been updated.

JMAC's New Limited Docs Non-QM lets borrowers qualify using a simple Streamline WVOE. Working for family and 1099 borrowers are allowed.

Capital Markets

U.S. Treasuries, and MBS prices but less so, staged a meaningful rally Thursday after several subdued sessions, driven by a sharp risk-off turn as weak labor data met with mounting equity market stress. Jobless claims jumped to roughly 230k, JOLTS openings fell to 6.54 million (the lowest since 2020), and Challenger job cuts surged, prompting a bull-steepening move that pushed the 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year yields below key technical levels. Equity weakness intensified, led by continued "meltdowns" in software and AI-related names following renewed concerns about the scale and cost of future AI investment, while momentum assets like bitcoin and commodities unwound and volatility spiked. Gold and Treasuries both attracted safe-haven flows, offering some reassurance after recent doubts about traditional defensive behavior, though the still-elevated stock-bond correlation leaves rally conviction muted.

Supply and demand matter, especially when it comes to mortgage prices. As PrimeLending’s Andrew Stringer astutely opined, “You might be asking yourself why pricing isn’t improving like we’d expect given how much the 10-yr has dropped. We are now back below 4.20 and yet, rate sheets aren’t responding with as much exuberance. That’s because the mortgage spread is widening again compared to the 10-year Treasury. In January, we tightened to 2.01 (Subtracting the 10-year index from the average 30yr mortgage rate). As of today, it’s now widened by about 20 basis points to 2.20. So even though the 10-year improved, MBS pricing is underperforming, and that dulls the impact on rates.”

DataQollab’s Adam Quinones weighed in, “The curve struggled not to steepen in the move (notable) and the mortgage basis lagged from the open (normal), but lenders still found room to reprice for the better. Not going to quote a par mortgage rate here but will say borrowers can expect a wider dispersion of quotes from originators in this environment. It's a yin-and-yang game between TBA price levels, spec pay ups, drops, BU/BD grids, and new prod MSR multiples. Will say recapture heavy shops are likely to ignore prepay implications and cut margins simply to retain. Others will follow but pure price taker originators with no MSR retention strategy will not benefit as much from these moves.”

Fed funds’ futures have shifted back toward pricing rate cuts beginning in June and September, reversing earlier expectations of just one cut. Meanwhile, Agency MBS lagged the Treasury rally, with the basis widening modestly as lower coupons underperformed amid heavy trading volume and persistent risk-off positioning across markets. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week ending February 5 showed that the 30-year and 15-year mortgage rates both rose 1-basis point from the prior week to 6.11 percent and 5.50 percent, respectively, and remain 78-basis points and 55-basis points lower from a year ago.

As announced earlier in the week, the January payrolls report has been pushed back to this upcoming Wednesday after the brief government shutdown, which leaves Michigan sentiment and consumer credit as the only data points today. The day’s lone Fed speaker is Vice Chair Jefferson. We begin Friday with Agency MBS prices roughly unchanged from Thursday’s close, the 2-year yielding 3.48, and the 10-year yielding 4.20 after closing yesterday at 4.21 percent.