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- Springy?
Springy?
By Jeff Walton & Kelly Guest
Table of Contents
The clocks did the “spring forward” thing, but it doesn’t feel like the market has – yet. The last Fed meeting with Powell as chair happened last week, and the decision to hold rates steady had the most dissents since 1992. Powell’s staying put, but he won’t be at the helm, and a handful of governors released statements saying they didn’t disagree with the decision to hold, but rather the hint at what the next move would be. Even though the "death cross" showed up Friday, Bill Bodnar says there's a lot to be excited about as we head toward the summer in his latest Master the Markets segment.
CHATTER
Fed Commentary: MBA’s Fratantoni
“There were four dissents to today’s decision, one to cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point, and three to remove the “easing bias” in the statement. Clearly, there are growing concerns regarding the inflation risk in this environment.
“Inflation jumped higher during the quarter, with the PCE index increasing at a 4.5% annualized rate, up from 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Looking just at March data, the PCE index was up 3.5% compared to last year, with core PCE up 3.2%. This re-acceleration in inflation, driven by the jump in energy prices, will be enough to keep the Fed on hold for the foreseeable future.”
“MBA’s forecast is for the FOMC to remain on hold over the forecast horizon given these trends in the data.”
Tag – you’re it
Interesting Take on UWM/CCM/Two Harbors Ongoing Saga: NMP
CrossCountry upped its bid for Two Harbors to $11.30/share, UWM came back with $12, but the offer thus far has not been accepted.
Credit Creep
No SSN? No Problem: MyFreeScoreNow
MyFreeScoreNow announced it is the first credit monitoring site to provide consumers without Social Security numbers with online access to credit reports and scores from all three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Enabled through full compatibility with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs), this platform enhancement expands access to credit monitoring services and financial tools for millions of consumers who have historically been underserved by traditional online credit platforms.
ITINs, issued by the Internal Revenue Service, are used by individuals who are required to comply with U.S. tax laws but are not eligible for a Social Security Number. Since their introduction, more than 31M ITINs have been issued, with approximately 5 million currently active as of March 2026.
Did you “gather?”
The Gathering by HousingWire went down last week in Austin, Texas and the lineup was fantastic. The InGenius team made a little ruckus in their session hosted by HW Strategic Advisor Sue Woodard and joined by Total Expert’s Joe Welu. InGenius offered the ability to rebuild a database for your most - and least - favorite loan officers, and we decided to extend it here. Did you just recruit a new LO? Rebuild their database and make sure it’s current - without having to move data from a past company. OR, did an LO leave? Use the database rebuilder to find out if s/he took their pipeline along:
Bank Blocking
Executive & Legislative Push: Require Citizenship to Bank
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says an executive order is underway and AK Senator Tom Cotton introduced legislation to ban illegal migrants from the American banking system. The Know Your American Customer Act requires U.S. financial institutions to verify the legal status of new customers to ensure American banks are not helping illegal migrants break our nation’s laws.
On the Bandwagon: UWM Allows Both FICO & VantageScore
After FHFA pulled the trigger, UWM announced it is offering both FICO and VantageScore, to provide brokers with added flexibility to evaluate borrowers’ credit history using multiple scoring models and choose the option that best aligns with each client’s individual scenario.
NOTE: Newrez did a pilot program that demonstrating that VantageScore 4.0 can be leveraged for loans originated, underwritten, and delivered to a GSE.
Crime & Schools: HUD Reverses Biden-era Rule
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sent a “Dear Colleague” letter to real estate professionals clarifying they are not violating the Fair Housing Act when they share information with prospective homebuyers about neighborhood crime rates and school quality data.
In the letter, the agency explains that unlawful steering under the Fair Housing Act requires intentional discrimination based on protected characteristics. Providing prospective homebuyers with information about school quality and crime data is not a violation when it is shared consistently without discriminatory intent.
MOVING & SHAKING
NAMB Partners with Chenoa Fund to expand access to DPA and arm mortgage pros with tools to help more borrowers.
ICE announced a record 1Q26 net revenues of $3.0 billion, +20% YoY
Through March 31, 2026, returned $848M to stockholders, including over$550M in share repurchases
eLend hired Roman Ramora as Chief Technology and Innovation Officer.
Stanley Martin completed its acquisition of United Homes.
MARKET/INDUSTRY
Mortgage Rates Average 6.30%: Freddie 4-30-26
Mortgage Applications Decreased 1.6% from One Week Earlier: MBA Weekly Survey for the week ending 4-24-26.
Homebuyer affordability declined in March, with the national median payment applied for by purchase applicants increasing to $2,131 from $2,061 in February. This is according to MBA’s Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI).
Completions, Starts Up, Permits Down in March: HUD/Census Bureau
Supply choke predicted ahead:
Private housing unit permits were down 10.8% MoM and 7.4% YoY.
Privately-owned housing starts in March were 10.8% MoM and 10.8% YoY.
Completions were up .1% MoM, down 12.8% YoY.
Appreciation Deceleration: FHFA HPI
U.S. house prices were unchanged in February, according to the FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index. House prices rose 1.7% from February 2025 to February 2026. The previously reported 0.1% price change in January was revised upward to 0.2 percent.
Making Inventory: Manufactured Homes Market to Reach $17.08B in US by 2031 -Modor Intelligence
Insane Insurance Increases: Newrez Study
Analysis of approximately 1.2M Newrez-serviced residential mortgage loans finds the average annual homeowners insurance premium rose from $1,597 to $2,625 between year‑end 2021 and year‑end 2025, a 64% increase, but growth slowed to 10% in 2025, the slowest rate since 2021.