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Music & Chairs
By Jeff Walton & Kelly Guest
February 17, 2025
Rocket tried to make John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" the new "Sweet Caroline" by triggering a sing-along at the Caesars Superdome after its Superbowl commercial aired.
We'll see if there will be a seat left for Jonathan McKernan when the music stops at the CFPB. It's been a revolving director's chair at the bureau since Rohit Chopra was edged out: Treasury Secretary Bessent took over after Chopra, Russ Vought was named to the acting position, and five days later, Trump nominated McKernan, who awaits Senate confirmation.
A.I. YI-YI-YI: Veterans United Home Loans found 32% of home buyers used AI tools in their search, and even though 40% of their survey respondents interact with A.I. once a day or more, consumers are pretty conflicted about the technology. When asked how comfortable they are with this technology becoming a part of everyday life, with 31% more concerned than excited, 29% more excited than concerned and 28% equally excited and concerned. It may be reasonable to worry about robots taking over, but the humans are still a significant threat. CertifID found that 1st-time buyers are 3x more likely to be defrauded in a real estate transaction. The 2025 State of Wire Fraud Report also said that 26% of home buyers and sellers reported receiving suspicious or fraudulent communications during their closing process and 1 in 20 reported having been a victim.
CHATTER
HUD Cleaning House: Agency union president Antonio Gaines says the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to discharge 50% of its workforce.
NMN reports the Trump administration fired over 100 CFPB employees brought on during the Biden term by former director Rohit Chopra.
Community Home Lenders of America sent a letter to the CFPB highlighting 4 key priorities to streamline regulation of smaller IMBs, in order to "arrest factors that have contributed to mortgage industry consolidation and less consumer choice." Suggestions include ceasing regulation by enforcement, and exempting smaller IMBs from exams.
Real estate tech company Propy launched a crypto-backed onchain real estate loan: The company says it "enables buyers to purchase real estate using USDC, ETH, or BTC, while also offering the option to obtain a 100% instant crypto-backed loan."
Partnering with Peter, Laying Off Paul: Zillow Q424 Announcement Includes Redfin Announcement
The online real estate giant posted big numbers for:
Total Q4 Revenue: $554 million, up 17% year over year.
Full-Year 2024 Revenue: $2.2 billion, up 15% year over year.
Q4 For Sale Revenue: $428 million, up 15% year over year.
Q4 Rentals Revenue: $116 million, up 25% year over year.
Q4 Mortgages Revenue: $41 million, up 86% year over year.
The company inked a deal to be the "exclusive provider of multi-family listings on Redfin and affiliates ApartmentGuide.com and Rent.com. The deal likely influenced Redfin's decision to lay off 450 employees in its existing rental division.
California Introduces Updated Landlord Law: Assembly Bill 2747 would require - for leases entered into on and after April 1, 2025 - the offer of positive rental payment information reporting to be made at the time of the lease agreement and at least once annually thereafter.
Government Grip: 87% of Nevada land is controlled by the U.S. government and Governor Joe Lombardo called on state lawmakers to push the Feds to release more land for housing.
Mr. Cooper completed the acquisition of Flagstar and reported net income of $204 million including other mark-to-market of $92 million and 57% YoY growth in its servicing portfolio to $1,556B. “The fourth quarter capped off an outstanding year for Mr. Cooper, with an operating ROTCE of 15.8% and substantial portfolio growth of 57% year-over-year. We enter 2025 with strong capital, liquidity, and an outstanding team, energized to serve our customers, clients, and stakeholders.” - Chairman and CEO Jay Bray
Onity Group posted Q424 and full year financials and reports highest net income since 2013 - of $33 million. “The year was marked by several significant milestones, including successfully completing a series of transactions to reduce our corporate debt, lower cost and extend maturities, rebranding to Onity, and expanding our digital capabilities. Fourth quarter results were consistent with the guidance we provided at the end of the third quarter, and even with the previously disclosed debt restructuring costs [ ]." - Onity Group Chair, President and CEO Glen Messina
Jury sides with GSEs and Alphabet Agencies in loanDepot Suit: HousingWire reports loanDepot found not guilty in case brought by former COO Tammy Richards. A company spokesperson told HW that investigations by Fannie, Freddie, the SEC, and CFPB also found no wrongdoing.
MOVING & SHAKING
MBA congratulated Jonathan McKernan on being tapped to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
BayCoast Mortgage promoted 10-year company veteran to President & CEO.
Lower hired Microsoft and Redfin alum Adam Wiener as its new president.
Inside Mortgage Finance reports that Cenlar added Joseph B. (JB) Long, a 25-year veteran of EverBank
loanDepot promoted Phil Iossa to lead the Tri-State territory of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey as Regional VP.
MISMO announced 2025 BOD: The cross-section of the residential and commercial real estate finance industries includes the following new members:
Bryan Doyle, Managing Director, Capital Markets, CBRE
Peter Grace, Senior Vice President of Membership, Education, Technology, and Strategy, MBA
Neenu Kainth, Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer, Enact
Kevin Peranio, Chief Lending Officer, PRMG
Kiran Sahota, Executive Vice President Technology, Freedom Mortgage
The Board will be chaired by Sage Nichols, Senior Vice President Collateral and Risk Solutions, CoreLogic. Mike Hogan, Senior Managing Director and Chief Information Officer, Pennymac, will serve as Vice Chair.
MARKET/INDUSTRY
Maybe The Worst Is Over…Bill Bodnar Master the Markets talks about last week's Treasury moves, but notes we've got a pretty thin economic news week and possibly better days ahead.
The 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgage Continues to Decrease: Freddie 2-13-25
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage continued to inch down this week, reaching its lowest level thus far in 2025. Recent mortgage rate stability is benefitting potential buyers, as purchase demand is stronger than this time last year. This is an indication that a thaw in buyer activity could be on the horizon.
Mortgage Applications Increased 2.3% From One Week Earlier: MBA Weekly Survey for the week ending 2-7-25.
“Mortgage rates moved slightly lower last week, which led to the pace of refinance applications reaching its strongest week since October 2024,” said Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist.
Mortgage Credit Availability Up In Jan: MBA’s Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI)
The MCAI rose by 2.5% to 99.0 in January. A decline in the MCAI indicates that lending standards are tightening, while increases in the index are indicative of loosening credit. The index was benchmarked to 100 in March 2012.
The Conventional MCAI increased 3.8%, while the Government MCAI increased by 1.0%. Of the component indices of the Conventional MCAI, the Jumbo MCAI increased by 5.3%, and the Conforming MCAI rose by 0.5%.
Good Growth: ATTOM Data's Q4 Opportunity Zones Report
Single-family home and condo prices rising quarterly in 49% of opportunity zones and annually in 61%. These zones, created to spur redevelopment in low-income areas, saw price trends closely align with national patterns despite ongoing challenges in the lowest-priced neighborhoods.
Median prices grew over 10% annually in nearly half of Opportunity Zones analyzed, showing economic potential in these distressed areas.
Higher-priced zones outperformed the lowest-priced neighborhoods, signaling uneven benefits from the housing boom.
Price volatility remained high, with values fluctuating by at least 5% in nearly 75% of zones quarter-over-quarter.