America's national debt topped $30 trillion for the first time, according to figures from the Treasury Department on Tuesday. Why might it matter for mortgage rates? When one combines a record amount of red ink, an aging population, elevated healthcare costs, and a tax system that doesn’t bring in enough revenue to cover spending, and a government that has become known for kicking fiscal cans down the road, well, you can see why there are worries about the long-term economic health of the country. Ignore at your own peril. Something else plenty of people ignore is climate change, natural or manmade, until it impacts their business model and profits. Mortgage analytics firm RiskSpan has collaborated with Verisk to create a first-of-its-kind solution for measuring and mitigating the risks of climate change to the housing finance industry. Dismiss the impact of climate if you like, but when leading insurance, re-insurance, corporate and government entities, and investors i
Hundreds of billions of servicing are being bought & sold out there. With Freddie & Fannie servicing trading at 5:1 (mid 3’s for Ginnie servicing), given current rates versus where servicing portfolios are, servicers are tapping into this source of capital instead of letting it sit on their balance sheet. Think of it as a savings account for a lender that retains servicing: with revenues dipping, the cash from a servicing sale can come in handy. Meanwhile, lenders and loan originators are being asked, “Are you trying to win, or just trying not to lose?” Investors and lenders are sharpening their pricing pencils for purchases at the expense of refis. Webinars abound about how MLOs, and their parent lender, should go after the purchase business. It’ll be a dog fight out there, at least for new home business, much of which goes to builder’s lenders. Recently we learned that mortgage applications for new-home purchases in Decem