Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon.
- During the first week of March, mortgage rates fell to their lowest point (6.63% for the 30-year fixed mortgage) since September 2024. As of the second week of the month, mortgage rates ticked up very slightly to 6.65% for the 30-year fixed mortgage. Joel Kan, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) vice president and deputy chief economist, attributed the drop to falling consumer sentiment and uncertainty about the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs in a public statement.
- The drop in mortgage rates during March has also brought on an increase in both mortgage and refinance applications. “As we enter the spring home-buying season, the purchase index was more than 4% higher than a year ago, and activity was up across all loan categories,” said MBA’s Kan in a statement.
- Fed board member Michelle Bowman will likely be named the central bank’s vice chair for supervision, a key regulatory role, according to National Mortgage News and other outlets, who cited unnamed White House sources. Bowman, who has somewhat of a non-traditional background for the role, is expected to take a less restrictive stance on regulation, and has also been more cautious about interest rate cuts in recent months.
- Rocket, parent company of Rocket Mortgage, has announced the acquisition of Redfin for $1.75 billion. Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman will remain in his current role. In a statement, Rocket CEO Varun Krishna also indicated support for Redfin’s recent deal with Zillow, one of its primary rivals among real estate portals. This acquisition comes off a strong opening to the year for Rocket. In Rocket’s Q4 2024 earnings call, the company reported net income of $456 million for 2024, with $23.6 billion worth of closed loan originations.
- Private equity executive Bill Pulte has been confirmed by the Senate as the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). His nomination has been supported by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). Pulte has expressed support for the Trump administration’s stated plans to remove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from government conservatorship.
- Guild Holdings Company, parent of the Guild Mortgage Company, reported a profitable fourth quarter and 2024 overall, reaching net revenue of $1 billion in 2024 and net income of $90.2 million ($19.7 million of which came in the fourth quarter). The company oversaw $24 billion of originations in 2024, including $6.7 billion in Q4 2024, which is a 57% improvement year-over-year. Guild CEO Terry Schmidt attributed the year-long “positive momentum” and “exceptional growth” to “the disciplined execution of our strategy to grow marketshare as we continue to realize the benefits of our balanced business model” in a statement.
- Mortgage servicer Mr. Cooper reported net income of $204 million during 2024 during its Q4 earnings call in February. The company, which has reduced the number of employees it plans to transition over from its acquisition of Flagstar, said on its recent earnings call that it is pushing its focus on AI and automation, such as the AI-powered coaching platform Agent IQ. “(Agent IQ) fully rolled out in the servicing call center where it’s now analyzing 400,000 calls per month, (and) we’re getting very enthusiastic reviews from our team members, including both newer agents and veterans,” said Mr. Cooper President Mike Weinbach on the earnings call.
- Union Home Mortgage, which saw leadership team promotions earlier in the year, has announced the acquisition of Houston-based Nations Reliable Lending (NRL) Mortgage, which closed over $1 billion in lending during 2024. Mewael Ghebremichael, CEO of NRL, said in a statement about the acquisition that: “Joining forces with (Union) feels right, because we know they care as much as we do about working as a team for the betterment of our borrowers. We’ll be able to make an even more meaningful impact by coming together, and we can’t wait to get started.”
- On February 17, Union Home Mortgage also filed a lawsuit against nine former employees—eight managers and one loan officer—claiming that these former employees violated their contracts with Union, specifically non-compete clauses, by resigning and joining competitor American Pacific Mortgage. The company further alleges that the defendants solicited other Union employees to leave, and that they used company information for their own benefit. Union is seeking damages exceeding $75,000 per defendant.
- Retail lender loanDepot has announced that CEO Frank Martell will be leaving that position and stepping into an advisory role in June 2025. As Martell steps down, the search for a successor is already underway. At the same time, loanDepot Founder and Chairman of the Board Anthony Hsieh will be transitioning to a new role as executive chairman of mortgage originations.
