Some aren’t a fan of new federal escrow laws. Ten states have sued the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency over new federal rules that would prevent them from enforcing laws requiring national banks to pay homeowners interest on money held in mortgage escrow accounts. Some weren’t fans of 10 percent credit card caps, 50-year mortgages, portable and/or assumable mortgages, but proponents say that the Administration is at least making suggestions. Congress’ effort to boost the nation’s housing supply passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support and became law, although it also left a mountain of paperwork for Washington’s significantly shrunken federal agencies, which are now tasked with turning dozens of new policies into reality. And at this point, from now through election day, we pretty much have Congress on vacation or campaigning to keep their jobs. Are we having fun yet? (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are sponsored by JazzX, the first true end-to-end AI platform built for mortgage. From application to close, JazzX is a new operating model that helps you scale growth, boost productivity, and transform how your team performs. Today’s has an interview with Bipartisan Policy Center’s Emma Waters on the shift from legislation to execution now that the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is law, and how quickly its provisions will translate into tangible effects for builders, lenders, local governments, and homebuyers.)
Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services
When mortgage data lives in spreadsheets and manual reports, credit unions react to their members’ needs instead of anticipating them. Business intelligence, done right, can change that. Join ICE for a complimentary webinar on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 2 p.m. ET to learn how to turn your member data into timely, meaningful action. This webinar is geared for credit unions ready to move from reactive reporting to proactive member engagement. Your members are making financial decisions right now. Make sure you're prepared to be a part of those conversations. Register today.
Walk in on any industry event and you'll hear it everywhere: brokers and originators trading notes on exactly what's working for their business right now, the hot products, ways they're approaching niche audiences, and what lenders are offering extra resources to help them close more. The NMP Webinar Fresh Off the Expo Floor: What Attendees Were Saying brings that energy straight from Originator Connect, the largest OCN event of the year. Angel Oak's Eric Morgenson, Rubina Sarwal, and Larry Mize join NMP's Andrew Berman on Thursday, August 20 at 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT to unpack what's driving loan production and which non-QM products had originators buzzing. Expect insights from the non-QM Summit and what's generating buzz on the West Coast. If you caught it live, consider this your recap. If not, here's your shot at the same insights without the badge, register here.
If your POS still runs on the ICE Encompass SDK, the clock is ticking. ICE's SDK sunset is a signal to evaluate whether your point of sale is built for what's next. Maxwell made the move to the modern Encompass API early, giving lenders native integration, Maxwell hosted disclosures and deep integrations across the workflow. With results like a 93.9 percent hosted disclosure completion rate versus the 74 percent on Encompass Consumer Connect, the API functionality removes real friction. No workarounds, additional logins, I-framing or other confusing alternatives. Just a POS built for the Encompass ecosystem. Get in touch with Maxwell to know more.
Mortgage borrowers are not spending all day lovingly chipping away at applications like it’s a sourdough starter. In LenderLogix’s new Borrower Behavior Report, What 3,000 Mortgage Applications Reveal About Modern Borrowers, they looked at real application data to better understand how borrowers actually move through the digital mortgage experience. The findings challenge a lot of common assumptions: 88.5 percent of LiteSpeed applications were completed in under 30 minutes, 56.83 percent were completed on mobile, and 72.77 percent of borrowers uploaded documents within 24 hours. The takeaway? Borrowers are not avoiding the mortgage application, they are avoiding friction. Access the free report to see what the data reveals about completion speed, mobile behavior, document uploads, and early application momentum.
In 1994, Today Show anchors Bryant Gumbel and Katie Couric spent an entire segment stuck on one question: “What is the internet"? Watch 90 seconds of smart people treating a basic tool like alien technology. Switching to a new system can still feel a little like that. But nCino’s Mortgage MCP gives your team nothing new to learn, instead letting you do more with the AI tools you already know. Your POS admin can onboard loan officers, add licenses, assign branches, and restructure hierarchies through a single conversation with the Admin MCP. Your loan officers can triage pipelines and reassign borrowers just as easily with the Loan Officer MCP. Ask for what you need in Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or whatever your team already uses, and nCino handles the rest. Learn more.
Ready to Give Your Pipeline a Boost? LendingPros has August Specials to help you out. Up to 25 BPS on Non-QM and Government for loans locked 8/1 – 31st, 2026. 25 BPS Price Improvement on Non-QM Select & Core includes Closed-End Seconds and DSCR 5-8. Plus 25 BPS on FHA, VA & USDA, FICO 620+ Non-Select Standard & High Balance (excludes DPA and CalHFA) and 12.5 BPS on FHA, VA & USDA Select Standard & High Balance, includes FHA Streamlines and VA IRRRLs. Specials are only here for a limited time, so contact your AE. Learn more.
Affordability pressure doesn't disappear when the loan closes. It comes back later as repurchase risk. Your borrowers are stretched, leaving less room for errors in the file. Truework, a Checkr Company, verifies income, employment, and assets before you close, replacing error-prone processes with fast, automated reports pulled directly from sources. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times and higher accuracy. Learn more.
“eLEND: Innovation Is Just Getting Started. At eLEND, we’re continuing to invest in what matters most: helping our broker partners win more business with flexible products, smarter technology, and a better lending experience. That momentum includes the appointment of Avi Marcus as Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, strengthening our leadership team as we continue to grow, innovate, and invest in AI-driven transformation. And we’re putting that innovation to work in our product lineup, too. Our DSCR program recently received pricing improvements, creating even more opportunity for investors looking for competitive financing solutions. But we’re not stopping there. We’re continuing to develop and enhance programs designed around the needs of today’s borrowers and brokers, with more product enhancements and new offerings on the way. There’s a lot happening at eLEND and we’re just getting started. Visit elendtpo.com, call 1-800-375-6071, or email sales@elend.com (NMLS 2826) Want in on this action? Partner today.”
Did you know annual U.S. home price growth remained near 1 percent for the third consecutive month in July? It's true. In case you missed it, First American Data & Analytics recently released its July Home Price Index (HPI) report where you can receive the most current insights into home price changes at the national, state, and metropolitan CBSA levels. “Annual house price appreciation nationally held at approximately 1 percent in July, the third consecutive month at roughly this pace, as housing supply and demand remain locked near a stalemate,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. “The strong inventory gains from earlier this year have largely leveled off, while affordability challenges continue to limit demand. For now, neither buyers or sellers have enough leverage to break the stalemate to push prices decisively higher or lower.” Download a full copy of their report to learn more.
Chrisman Demo Day is a free perk for all Chrisman Marketplace members. If you're a technology or service provider and haven't joined the Marketplace yet, reach out to Jake Perkins at info@chrismancommentary.com to learn more.
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.
Capital Markets
The big takeaway from last week is that inflation is stabilizing rather than reaccelerating, which strengthens the case for the Fed to remain on hold and retain a wait-and-see approach at the Federal Open Market Committee meeting next month. Were you expecting a rate hike anyway when inflation isn’t accelerating, the labor market is deteriorating, and retail sales (even without adjusting for inflation) are now printing negative? Agency MBS and Treasuries sold off to close last week as investors shrugged off weak July retail sales. Longer-duration bonds underperformed even as the 2-year yield briefly fell to its lowest level since late June, reflecting the gap between expectations for Fed easing and continued pressure on the long end of the yield curve. U.S. retail sales fell in July by the most in more than a year as consumers pulled back on purchases at online stores and auto dealers. The retail purchases, which aren't adjusted for inflation, decreased 0.6 percent, the most since May 2025, according to the Trump administration. The University of Michigan’s preliminary August consumer sentiment index fell sharply in July. Only 8 percent of consumers expect their incomes to outpace inflation over the next year, signaling growing pressure on household purchasing power that could translate into weaker discretionary spending. “Ability to Repay” requirements help mortgage performance, right? For people wondering why mortgage rates aren’t even higher, considering the 10-year Treasury yield is at its highest level in nearly three years, the answer is that the mortgage–Treasury spread has compressed meaningfully. The spread is composed of prepayment and credit risk. Unlike in 2023, when elevated rate volatility, weak MBS demand and Fed balance-sheet runoff pushed mortgage spreads unusually wide, today investors are demanding less of a premium to hold mortgage-backed securities. Yes, the 10-year yield is high, but the “extra” spread added on top of it to price a mortgage has fallen substantially, helping keep mortgage rates around 6.6 percent to 6.7 percent despite the 10-year approaching 4.7 percent. President Trump is pitching a “golden age” economy, but voters remain focused on the more immediate reality of elevated living costs and inflation, creating a gap between the administration’s economic narrative and how households feel. With the midterms approaching, the White House appears poised to roll out additional measures, including potential capital-gains reforms that could both index gains for inflation and substantially increase the tax exemption on home sales. Both have the potential to unlock housing inventory by giving long-time homeowners more incentive to sell.
But because meaningful changes would require congressional action, these proposals are still more campaign promise than policy, and there is an ironic near-term risk: simply signaling a future tax break could cause would-be sellers to wait, further constraining housing supply in an already tight market. This week is lighter on the domestic data front, with focus on Wednesday's FOMC minutes. The minutes will likely reiterate that most policymakers remain patient on adjusting rates due to a softer labor market and inflation data since the July meeting. Tomorrow, July housing starts are expected to edge lower, reflecting ongoing pressure from weak affordability and a challenging environment for builders. Today’s economic calendar kicked off with August’s Empire State Manufacturing Index. Later today brings the August NAHB Housing Market Index, and some short-duration Treasury auctions. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices little changed from Friday, the 2-year yielding 4.16, and the 10-year yielding 4.70, unchanged from Friday’s close.
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