“Rob, everyone knows that the GSEs (Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae) don’t use credit scores for loan approval. They use it for pricing. The GSEs have created their own scoring system and it’s just the investors that utilize the score.” True dat. It takes a while to test the impact of credit scores on defaults, delinquencies, pricing, and prepayment speeds, and staff in our biz interested in any Agency pilot programs about credit are encouraged to reach out to their F or F representatives. People seem to like lists and rankings. ATTOM released its ResiScore, an AI-powered neighborhood intelligence offering that ranks residential areas based on projected housing market performance. If you have a client in the market to buy a home, you certainly welcome lower prices and lower rates (although if they’re also selling a home, you want to get the best possible price on that). But higher prices impact affordability much more than rates. Realtor.com estimates that one of two things would need to happen for monthly mortgage payments to fall back to 2019 levels: Household incomes would need to rise 56 percent, or mortgage rates would need to fall to 2.65 percent. In other words, it’s not happening anytime soon. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to underwriting, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Hear an interview with Automax.ai’s Humza Ahmed on how residential property appraisal technology is evolving, the way it's built for UAD 3.6, and what is dramatically reducing turnaround time.)
Broker and Lender Products, Software, and Services
MeridianLink Mortgage reports record growth, powering 1M+ home loan applications! Keeping up with the mortgage market can feel like treading water in a constant sea of change. Lenders are done trying to simply stay afloat, and they’re turning to MeridianLink® Mortgage for the support to win in any market conditions. In 2025, MeridianLink Mortgage saw its third consecutive year of record growth, welcoming 60 new customers to simpler workflows, streamlined service, lower origination costs, and higher productivity. That growth extended to lenders and homeowners across the nation, with our mortgage tech powering over 1M home loan applications, 38 percent Y-o-Y mortgage volume growth, outpacing industry growth of just 19 percent, 59 percent higher home equity loan volume, and 25 percent higher purchase loan volume. From instant decisions based on configurable automation rules to native and third-party PPE and POS options, see how MeridianLink Mortgage is helping lenders modernize to accelerate growth. Read the full press release.
Designed around how today’s borrowers actually qualify, JET eliminates the guesswork with a new suite of five purpose-built programs: First Class for premium pricing and top-tier loan amounts up to $3.5M; Business Class for the self-employed borrower who needs leverage bank statement or 1099 for qualification purposes flexibility; Premium Class for near-prime scenarios loans with FICO scores starting at 620 and credit events as recent as 12 months; Connecting Flight Seconds for borrowers who want to access equity without touching a low first-mortgage rate; and Skyline DSCR for investors where qualification is based on credit, collateral and cashflow… no income docs required, short-term rental income accepted. Each product has a clear lane, a clean matrix, and a dedicated team ready to price your scenario today. JET is a wholesale lender built for brokers who are tired of sending deals to multiple lenders before finding a fit. One platform, five products, every borrower type. If you have a scenario, send it. Contact your JET Account Executive or visit here to get started.
80 percent of borrowers will do their next deal with a different LO. That's not bad luck; that's a retention problem. OneHomeowner by Cotality creates loyalty and retention by giving homeowners a free, branded home hub to track their home's value, equity growth, and maintenance needs. So, you stay connected and at top of mind long after closing. OneHomeowner turns closed loans into long-term relationships and makes sure you are your past clients’ first call when they're ready to move. Schedule a demo of OneHomeowner today and stop being the LO they used to use.
Are you helping clients expand their real estate portfolios? Symmetry's First or Second Lien HELOC offerings can tap into available equity. Funds can be used for a fix and flip, remodel, or add an addition (after close), as well as use funds for new purchases. Our investment products include CLTV up to 70 percent, line amounts up to $500k, interest-only payments for the first 5 or 10 years (plus annual fee), no pre-payment penalties, and no EPO. Reach out for more details and see our investment information here! Symmetry Lending
Many loan officers are waiting for rates to create opportunities. The problem is that opportunity rarely arrives all at once. It appears in small moments: a past client with more equity than they realize, a homeowner whose life circumstances have changed, or a borrower whose financial profile looks very different than it did a few years ago. The lenders finding growth in today's market aren't necessarily generating more leads. They're getting better at identifying opportunities that already exist within their databases. As data, automation, and AI continue to evolve, the advantage increasingly belongs to originators who can recognize those opportunities and act on them first. That's where platforms like Usherpa are helping lenders uncover hidden opportunities, prioritize outreach, and turn existing relationships into future production. Learn how lenders are turning existing relationships into future production with Usherpa.
The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the 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.
Verification and Credit Products
As score competition becomes a reality, cost and complexity are top concerns for lenders. To help reduce barriers to adoption, TransUnion® announced 99-cent pricing for VantageScore® 4.0 per loan origination… pricing now matched across the market. This move supports lender testing and evaluation of modern credit models while maintaining the discipline and consistency the mortgage ecosystem depends on. To learn more about how this pricing change is designed to support preparation, choice, and responsible innovation, read the full announcement.
“You know the story: a file needs attention before end of day, or a borrower scenario requires a second look, or a timeline tightens without warning. What happens next? Your credit reporting partner either adds value or slows your team down. Advantage Partners Solutions works with that dynamic in mind. Our team knows your LOS, knows how your files are structured, and knows what's at stake when timing gets tight. We've done the work upfront to understand how your operation runs. Requests are handled with awareness of what is at stake and what comes next in your process. That consistency builds trust across your team and across every file you manage. Our goals are to always reduce friction, support timelines, and strengthen execution across your organization. This is what partnership looks like. Experience a team that operates like a seamless part of your workflow. Connect with APS today.”
Less back-and-forth. More first-time-right verifications. Truework replaces manual verification waterfalls with a single automated platform, so underwriters, LOs, and ops can cut down the document chasing, conflicting numbers, and last-minute corrections. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times, higher accuracy, and stronger R&W relief. Trusted by 4 of the top 5 lenders in the U.S., Truework gives your team verification results they can rely on. Learn more.
Webcasts Coming Up
Mortgage Matters is today at 11AM PT, presented by Lenders One. Robbie and Rob Chrisman are joined by Steve Grossman of Luminate Bank to discuss leadership, production strategy, and building high-performing teams. The conversation explores what drives success in today’s mortgage market and how leaders are adapting to changing conditions.
Capital Markets Wrap is today at noon PT presented by Polly. Ira Selwin, James Baublitz, Rob Chrisman, and sales and trading vet Dave Gottfried break down the biggest takeaways from the National Secondary conference. The discussion explores investor sentiment, emerging market themes, and the conversations shaping capital markets strategy behind the scenes.
FirstTrust’s Glenn Strong is featured on The Big Picture tomorrow the 11th at noon PT. Look for a discussion on leadership and growth in today’s market. The conversation explores how lenders are adapting strategy and operations as conditions continue to evolve.
FTC’s Penalty
The Federal Trade Commission is returning nearly $3 million to consumers deceived by the Golden Home Services, also known as Home Matters USA, mortgage relief scheme, which falsely promised to reduce homeowners’ mortgage payments and prevent foreclosures.
Capital Markets
What a seesaw. While the week opened with markets finding some relief as signs of de-escalation between Iran and Israel that pushed oil prices back down (easing immediate inflation concerns and helping contain upward pressure on bond yields), yesterday saw prospects for a near-term peace agreement between the U.S., Israel, and Iran deteriorate sharply after President Trump blamed Iran for the reported downing of a U.S. helicopter and authorized a new round of U.S. strikes on Iranian targets. Flip a coin to determine what’s next.
We do, however, have domestic news. The U.S. Treasury launched this week's note and bond auction slate with a well-received 3-year note auction, especially so given the overall volatility across capital markets. Separately, an index of U.S. small business optimism fell in May to the lowest level since October 2024, erasing almost all of the gains seen since President Trump’s 2024 re-election.
Existing home sales increased 3.2 percent in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.17 million units, the strongest pace since December, as modest improvements in affordability (driven by lower mortgage rates relative to a year ago and income growth that has outpaced home-price appreciation) helped support demand. Despite the monthly gain, transaction activity remains near post-financial-crisis lows, reflecting ongoing structural challenges; Years of underbuilding, combined with the "lock-in effect" from low rates created by the Federal Reserve's era of quantitative easing (QE) and large-scale mortgage-backed securities (MBS) purchases, have left a persistent shortage of existing-home inventory relative to population and household growth. This has limited market turnover, intensified competition for available properties, and contributed to existing-home prices at times rivaling or exceeding those of new construction.
Despite weaker business sentiment and persistent concerns surrounding geopolitical risk and economic uncertainty, the big story out there remains the remarkable resilience of the U.S. economy. Labor markets continue to generate solid employment gains, consumer spending has remained constructive, and overall economic activity has proven far more durable than many anticipated in the face of elevated energy prices and external “shocks.” The resilience has investors moving beyond discussions of when the Federal Reserve might begin cutting rates and instead contemplating whether (still not necessarily when) inflationary pressures could ultimately necessitate additional tightening.
Policymakers are still expected to leave rates unchanged in the near term, though markets are increasingly embracing a higher-for-longer framework, reflecting the view that monetary policy may already be near neutral and that sustained economic strength could complicate the path back to the Fed's inflation target. Obviously, this calculus could quickly change based on energy prices, labor market conditions, financial market performance, and geopolitical developments.
Today’s economic calendar kicked off with mortgage applications increasing 10.8 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey; last week’s results included an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday. We've also received May consumer prices: the CPI was +.5 percent, as expected (prior 0.6 percent) and +4.2 Y-o-Y, and Core CPI was +.2 percent (versus expectations of +0.3 percent; prior 0.4 percent) and +2.9 percent Y-o-Y. Later today brings the May Treasury Budget and an auction of $39 billion 10-year Treasury notes. We begin the day with Agency MBS prices little changed from Tuesday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.13, and the 10-year yielding 4.53 after closing yesterday at 4.53 percent.
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