I always wonder, when I see two gas stations near each other in a small town, if the owners agree on pricing and share information. But when you’re dealing with trillions of dollars of mortgages and millions of borrowers, well, that’s a different scale, and the leader and boards of directors should be held responsible if the news is correct. Per the AP, “A confidant of Bill Pulte, the Trump administration’s top housing regulator, provided confidential mortgage pricing data from Fannie Mae to (Freddie Mac), alarming senior officials of the government-backed lending giant who warned it could expose the company to claims that it was colluding with a rival to fix mortgage rates. CEOs report to boards, and some are saying that if Mr. Pulte and the Fannie and Freddie boards want to be relieved of their duties, they should have just resigned. And if nothing of consequence happens, what does that say about the housing finance system in the U.S.? (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s are sponsored by TransUnion. Mortgage lenders choose TransUnion for their identity-focused, data-driven mortgage insights and solutions, enabling them to achieve more desirable lending outcomes in a volatile housing market. Hear an interview with Telhio Credit Union’s Allie Hager on independent mortgage banks and credit unions differ in serving today’s borrowers, focusing on borrower sentiment around rates versus payments, strategies for building customer loyalty, and personal insights on professional growth and finding one’s comfort zone.)
Services, Products, Software, and Tools for Lenders and Brokers
“Mortgage asset valuation & trading is slow, involves waiting around and doesn’t feel grounded in reality. Kind of like a visit to your local DMV… Black Lake’s READY™ Valuation Engine changes that. READY™ or (Real-time Evaluation and Deterministic Yield Engine) prices both small and large MSR and loan portfolios in seconds. Outputs are tradeable. Generate an LOI directly from the system or just get a mark to market. Anytime. For servicing portfolios, this means accurate, instant, actionable pricing clarity. Whether you’re selling MSRs or whole loans, you can finally price target yields with confidence, cut weeks of delay, and focus on liquidity instead of guesswork. Are you an investor? Looking to buy MSR portfolios efficiently at your target yields? READY™ replicates any static or OAS model. Buy with confidence & directly from the 'well head'. Black Lake Investment Solutions: Empowering mortgage intelligence. Visit our website or contact info@blacklakeinvestments.com to learn more.”
Imagine if every meeting was just 8 minutes long. That’s what happens in Roam, the Office of the Future. Roam is an AI-powered Virtual HQ where remote and hybrid teams actually feel together again. A live office map shows who’s around, who’s meeting together, and who’s available, so you can knock, talk, and collaborate in real time - just like being in the same building. It can also bring your partners into the same shared space, from lenders to real estate agents, making collaboration faster and more natural. The results speak for themselves: 8-minute average meeting times, an 86% boost in culture scores, and roughly 80 percent cost savings. Replace Zoom/Teams, Slack, Calendly, Loom/BombBomb, AI notetakers, Zoom Webinar, and more all for $18.88/month, with a two-week free trial for your whole team. See Roam for yourself.
Arc Home’s VP of HELOC Sales, Lee Malone, joined the Chrisman Commentary Podcast to talk through what brokers need to capitalize on the HELOC market in 2026 and how HomeEQ was upgraded to deliver it. The focus is speed, clarity, and broker control. HomeEQ now uses a soft credit pull paired with an AVM to give a fast fit check and reduce early friction. Brokers can start the application on for the borrower, so files move immediately. Income flexibility has been expanded to include retirement income, 1099 earnings, and Schedule E rental income, creating more clean paths to yes without slowing the process. When a closer look is needed, valuation moves from AVM to appraisal with a simple handoff. Turn times remain tight with application to funding in as few as five days, and brokers can earn up to 2% compensation. Listen to the episode, then connect with Lee to set up time to do a market overview.
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.
Mergers and Acquisitions Continue
In this case, servicing rights. From Minneapolis comes news that Rice Park Capital Management LP, a Minneapolis-based private investment firm specializing in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), announced today that it has acquired Charlotte’s Rosegate Mortgage, LLC, a retail and consumer-direct mortgage lender. “This strategic acquisition expands Rice Park’s capabilities across the mortgage value chain, supporting both MSR recapture and retention strategies while reinforcing its commitment to supporting originator partners.”
“The integration of Rosegate allows Rice Park to selectively perform recapture across its MSR holdings, which Rice Park believes will enhance returns and mitigate prepayment risk, while maintaining its strong alignment with third-party originators who rely on Rice Park for capital solutions, MSR liquidity and customer retention.
“To manage this dynamic, Rice Park has developed a dual-channel strategy. First, for MSR acquisitions with embedded recapture partnerships, Rice Park will support and respect those relationships. Second, for MSRs without an embedded recapture agreement, Rice Park will utilize Rosegate to pursue recapture directly.
“’Acquiring Rosegate enables us to offer a fully integrated mortgage investment platform that we believe enhances value for our investors through improved servicing retention and strategic recapture,” said Craig Freel, President and co-Chief Investment Officer of Rice Park. “At the same time, we remain fully committed to our originator and servicer partners. Our platform is designed to offer flexibility, providing capital and MSR solutions that preserve and support our partners’ customer relationships.’
“Rice Park and Rosegate initially partnered in October 2024 to provide financing solutions for borrowers within Rice Park’s MSR portfolio, which includes approximately $61 billion in unpaid principal balance serviced through its affiliate, Nexus Nova LLC (“Nexus Nova”), NMLS # 2082961. Under the new structure, Rosegate and Nexus Nova are combined into a single operating entity within Rice Park’s organizational structure. Rosegate will continue to operate under its existing brand, maintaining its headquarters in Charlotte, NC, and expanding its retail and consumer-direct lending operations.”
Why Extensions Cost Bucks
For a primer on why extensions cost money… For MLOs who locked their borrowers at the lows, or before some major news or election results, I continue to be asked about why extending a rate lock, if even for a few days for something beyond the control of the borrower, costs money. The cost to extend a best-efforts lock reflects the cost incurred by Secondary Marketing to move the corresponding hedge to reflect the new closing date. It’s an easier concept to understand if you acknowledge the inequity of hedging a mortgage pipeline: best efforts locks, which may or may not close, are given for FREE to Loan Officers, then hedged with mandatory security instruments. When a lock extension is granted, the hedge needs to reflect the change in delivery dates.
For example, when a loan comes in with a 45-day lock, your hedge model will pull from your LOS the estimated closing date, to best execute that loan for delivery into the secondary markets. In the process it determines what month security needs to be sold to offset the 45+ days of interest rate exposure that loan will incur. If that 45-day lock was taken out September 1st, with an October 15th estimated funding, a November security would probably be sold as the hedge instrument; a ‘only 7 days’ extension might just mean that loan now best executes into a December commitment, meaning you now must buy-back your November coverage, and sell a December security to match the new closing date. This ‘roll,’ from a front month security, to a back month has a transactional cost. Much of the fee charged to extend a loan with your secondary group reflects this cost.”
Capital Markets
The U.S. economy is driven by jobs and housing. Anyone who thinks that the jobs portion of our economy is doing well should take another look. Add Verizon to the large companies cutting staff: apparently 15,000 are being let go. That’s 15,000 who won’t be buying a home, and may not qualify for a refinance of their 25 percent credit card debt. Meanwhile, on the inflation front, President Trump announced lower food tariffs since costs have gone up. Costs going up after tariffs? Imagine that.
Federal Reserve officials spent this week stressing caution, saying they can’t commit to more rate cuts until they see the economic data that was delayed during the government shutdown. Several policymakers pointed out that inflation is still too high and that lowering rates too quickly could backfire, while others emphasized that the next move depends entirely on what upcoming reports show. Bonds have traded within a narrow, familiar range, awaiting the Bureau of Labor Statistics to release the September jobs numbers; data that will matter, but is also somewhat outdated. Signs of financial strain are growing beneath the surface, too: subprime auto-loan delinquencies just hit a record high, suggesting lower-income households are feeling real pressure even as overall consumer spending still looks healthy.
Yesterday saw the U.S. Treasury complete this week's auction slate with an unimpressive 30-year bond sale. And mortgage rates were modestly changed in this week’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey from Freddie Mac. For the week ending November 13, the 30-year mortgage rate rose 2-basis points to 6.24 percent and the 15-year rate slipped 1-basis point to 5.49 percent. From a year ago, respective rates are 54-basis points and 50-basis points lower.
The October PPI, retail sales, and business inventories reports will not be released today due to the government shutdown. That leaves only remarks from Kansas City Fed President Schmid, Dallas Fed President Logan, and Atlanta Fed President Bostic. We begin Friday with Agency MBS prices better than Thursday’s close by about .125, depending on coupon and maturity, the 2-year yielding 3.55, and the 10-year yielding 4.07 after closing yesterday at 4.11 percent.
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