Ellie Mae announced Thursday it entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by Intercontinental Exchange for approximately $11 billion. The move comes 15 months after Thoma Bravo, a private equity investment firm, announced it would acquire Ellie Mae in an… Continue Reading →

We sat down with Nancy Alley, vice president of strategic planning at Simplifile and one of HousingWire’s 2020 Women of Influence, to talk about the rapid changes in the closing process as a result of the pandemic. Will this end… Continue Reading →

The Oakland County Health Division in Michigan sent an emergency order to Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage and United Shore Financial Services, saying employees weren’t wearing masks at work, contributing to the spread of the coronavirus. The emergency… Continue Reading →

Rocket Companies, parent company of Quicken Loans, underwhelmed in its public debut on Thursday. But executives remain optimistic with an eye toward the future, according to a HousingWire interview with COO Bob Walters. On Wednesday, we reported that Rocket Companies… Continue Reading →

After an unpredictable spring, Zillow Group said it has beat its outlook in the second quarter. The group’s total consolidated revenue grew 28% year over year in Q2, to $768 million, with a total net loss of $84 million. “Zillow’s… Continue Reading →

After announcing in its second-quarter earnings that it plans to expand, eXp World Holdings is officially launching in five new countries. By the end of 2020, the company said it plans to expand its real estate operations in France, India,… Continue Reading →

Initial jobless claims fell to 1.2 million last week, down from 1.4 million in the prior period, declining to a pandemic low that was almost twice as high as the worst measure during the financial crisis a decade ago. Continuing… Continue Reading →

This article was written for FinLedger, HW Media’s new fintech-focused news brand designed specifically for financial services professionals in banking, insurance and real estate. Stay tuned for updates. Migrating to the cloud is an increasingly common practice for financial institutions. But with that migration comes… Continue Reading →

When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released the 2019 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data there was one key shift that was evident from the start – independent mortgage banks clearly stepped up their game.  Wells Fargo, which had long held… Continue Reading →

Average U.S. mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to an all-time low of 2.88% this week, the eighth time in 2020 the weekly rate has set a record in a Freddie Mac series that goes back almost five… Continue Reading →

If you’re unemployed in the midst of a pandemic, this isn’t going to solve your short-term need for money to pay for groceries or clothes for your kids, but it’s something: Whatever plan Congress comes up with to extend or… Continue Reading →

Note: This is part four of a five-part series. Over the following weeks, Todd Duncan, sales entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author, will showcase principles for mortgage and real estate professionals to embrace for success. Find more advice in… Continue Reading →

Rocket Companies announced post-publication that it had priced its IPO at $18 a share, and that it is selling 100 million shares. This means it is seeking to raise $1.8 billion in its offering. Rocket Companies, parent company of Quicken… Continue Reading →

Living in a good school district is one of the biggest factors for homebuyers, even if they’re empty nesters. The National Association of Realtors found in its Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers in 2019 that 26% of all homebuyers… Continue Reading →

The Federal Reserve is considering abandoning its longtime strategy of using its benchmark rate to pre-emptively prevent inflation from rising above its 2% target. That could be the death knell for rock-bottom mortgage rates. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at… Continue Reading →

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has been advocating for mortgage brokers for almost 50 years. HousingWire spoke with NAMB President Rocke Andrews and Roy DeLoach, NAMB’s lobbyist in Washington, D.C., about the organization’s past and current legislative efforts. HousingWire:… Continue Reading →

According to an analysis by FundingShield, increases in CPL and agent validation errors with title insurers rose by 530% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the first. Fraud and risk exposures in CPL errors and issues rose 50%,… Continue Reading →

As Republicans and Democrats negotiate a new stimulus package in Washington D.C., it’s likely that rent delinquencies will rise and over 20 million renters could be evicted. About 12.4% of U.S. renters missed payments in the first two weeks of… Continue Reading →

eXp World Holdings, the parent company of eXp Realty, said its profit soared to a record in the second quarter as the dollar-volume of transactions rose 26% from a year earlier to $13 billion. The company reported net income of… Continue Reading →

Last week, we published a story about United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) offering 15-year fixed mortgage rates as low as 1.875% for purchases and refinances. The article drew mixed reactions, with some calling the announcement a “nice PR move” that doesn’t… Continue Reading →

Just as it has for every other industry in the country, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the U.S. housing market in unexpected ways since March. In this case, record low interest rates and spikes in mortgage applications have created a… Continue Reading →

Susan Rice, the former national security adviser to President Barack Obama, has extensive White House experience yet has never been elected to office. That may be a key reason she’s on the shortlist to be former Vice President Joe Biden’s… Continue Reading →

Despite historically low rates, mortgage applications fell 5.1% last week, according to a survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association. The refinance index fell 7% from one week earlier, however, remained 84% higher than the same week a year ago when… Continue Reading →

Three brokerages have joined Coldwell Banker as a part of its new Inclusive Ownership program. Coldwell Banker Omni Group in Santa Ana, California, owned by Tina Marie and Rich Hernandez; Coldwell Banker Action Holdings in Grand Island, Nebraska, owned by… Continue Reading →