Kiavi, one of the nation’s largest private lenders for residential real estate investors, closed a $300 million unrated securitization of residential transition loans (RTLs), the company announced on Friday. The loans bundled in the securitization were mostly investment property loans used for fix-a

Sam Valverde, formerly the principal executive vice president of government-owned corporation Ginnie Mae, was named as its acting president as of May 6, according to an announcement issued by the organization this week.Sam ValverdeValverde succeeds Alanna McCargo, who began serving as Ginnie Mae pre

The Real Brokerage welcomes Texas-based independent brokerage The Property Shop, led by Season Ware, the company announced on Friday. The Property Shop joined Real under its Private Label program, which allows independent brokerages to maintain their own brand while reaping the benefits associated w

Guild Holdings Company, parent company of Guild Mortgage, recorded a 6% increase in mortgage originations and much higher revenue levels in the first quarter of 2024 than in 2023. Net income saw substantial improvements as the company continues to pursue an active acquisition strategy, according to

Despite a challenging operating environment and broader concerns among industry professionals about connecting with new borrowers, the reverse mortgage industry’s key performance indicators showed improvements last month.Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) endorsements increased by 2.3% to 2,105,

Despite the necessary requirement for a homeowner to maintain insurance on their property for protection against human- and naturally-occurring disasters, the impacts of climate change are creating “natural” scenarios that are increasingly not covered by insurance.Such instances are accelerating in

Portside Real Estate Group, led by Dava Davin, has acquired Lakepoint Real Estate, led by industry veteran Dan McCarron, the company announced on Wednesday.It is the second company that Portside has acquired. In 2018, the brokerage onboarded RE/MAX Heritage in Yarmouth, Maine, led by Mike Lepage.As

Rocket Companies, the parent company of Rocket Mortgage, hired its first chief technology officer this week, bringing former Thomson Reuters and Intel executive Shawn Malhotra into the fold. The hire is Rocket’s latest move to bolster its already robust investment in artificial intelligence.Varun Kr

Social Security is often the centerpiece of seniors’ fixed income in later life, and while predictions remain limited for the life of the program’s trust fund, there was some good news recently from the Social Security Board of Trustees this week: the fund will last a year longer than predicted in 2

Mortgage tech firm Blend Labs reported another loss in the first quarter of 2024, but its executives remain confident the company will deliver profits by the end of this year. To reach this goal, the company recently received a $150 million injection from private equity firm Haveli Investments and p

After months of uncertainty, the real estate industry has a reason to celebrate, at least a little bit. Judge Stephen Bough on Thursday granted final approval to the commission lawsuit settlement agreements reached by Anywhere, RE/MAX and Keller Williams.The settlement agreement will become effectiv

UWM Holdings Corp., the parent of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), returned to profitability in the first quarter of 2024 despite higher rates, a lack of inventory and a decline in the fair value of its mortgage servicing rights (MSRs). The quarter’s positive performance was supported by increased o

Robert Reffkin is confident that Compass and its agents have what it takes to continue growing and succeeding in the changing real estate environment.“In down markets, the best agents and the best brokerages gain market share,” Reffkin, the CEO of Compass, told investors and analysts during his firm

A former top executive at Better.com has voluntarily dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit filed about two years ago against the company and its leadership, including founder Vishal Garg, that accuses the defendants of violating labor and securities laws when pursuing the firm’s goal to go public. Atto

Ellington Financial, the parent company of top-five reverse mortgage lender and servicer Longbridge Financial, reported that its reverse mortgage segment’s adjusted distributable earnings were lower in the first quarter of 2024 than they were in the previous quarter.Projections of loan originations

A court has denied the Batton 1 plaintiffs’ last-minute attempt to block Thursday’s final approval hearing for the commission lawsuit settlement agreements from occurring.Earlier on Wednesday, the homebuyer plaintiffs in the Batton 1 commission lawsuit, filed in Chicago in January 2021, filed a moti

Fannie Mae announced on Wednesday the availability of a new web-based option for its income calculator tool, which is designed to “help mortgage professionals serve the growing number of mortgage applicants in the U.S. who are self-employed and don’t have traditional sources of income,” according to

Nonbank lender Panorama Mortgage Group (PMG) launched a new program that allows first-time homebuyers to take out a loan with a 1% down payment, the company announced on Wednesday. The new offering, known as the 1st Generation Homebuyer program, also includes a 2% grant to reach the conventional dow

U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.), who recently submitted a series of questions to Ginnie Mae about its management of the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM)-backed Securities (HMBS) program following the collapse of Reverse Mortgage Funding (RMF), clinched the Republican nomination for governor of I

Home prices trended up in almost all U.S. metro areas during the first quarter of 2024. Out of 221 metro markets analyzed, 205 (93%) posted yearly home price gains in Q1 2024, while 30% experienced double-digit price gains during the same period — up from 15% in the fourth quarter of 2023 — accordin