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Summer Smorgasbord
By Jeff Walton & Kelly Guest
Table of Contents
We head into the summer with a new Fed chair, credit model confusion, battles between the big name real estate portals and the MLSs that feed them, and different ways to attack affordability issues. (Spoiler alert: A 100% FHA mortgage has been floated.) The first of the three 3-day weekends that define summer has passed, so let’s hope the market decides to make hay while the sun shines.
CHATTER
Pulte Says GSEs to Accept VantageScore 4.0 Immediately – Industry Says, “Hold On”: HW
While most agreed the FHFA’s move is a step in the right direction and could result in savings down the road, they noted that its operational impact remains unclear. Market adoption is expected to be gradual and any potential cost savings are unlikely to materialize in the near term.
Get or Stay in the Fold, Save Money: Rocket/Redfin Announce $12-20K Savings
Eligible homebuyers and sellers could save up to $20,000 on their next home when they buy and sell with a Redfin agent and finance with Rocket Mortgage. The savings are delivered through a combination of lender-paid credits from Rocket Mortgage and commission discount from Redfin.
FICO Digs Deeper
Boon for Borderline Borrowers? FICO Launches New Tool
New features for the FICO® Score Mortgage Simulator – FICO® Smart Plans and FICO® Score Potential – designed to help mortgage professionals move beyond manual scenario simulations toward more automated, algorithmically driven data planning that can deliver better loan outcomes for consumers.
The two newly launched features build on this foundation by automating and optimizing the simulated plans, with a “do-it-for-me” approach, helping lenders identify which borrowers have the greatest potential for score improvement and generate personalized credit action plans to support faster, more informed decision-making.
They Like the Revision: NAHB & CHLA Back the House-Amended ROAD to Housing Act.
Urban Institute Advocates for 100% FHA Mortgage: HW
Suggests the 12% increased default risk they found in their study could be offset by 25-35 bps increase in upfront MIP.
NAR Asking Feds for Guidance: Request is Interesting - HW
NAR is asking DOJ’s Antitrust Div and the FTC for guidance. Samples:
Confirms that common property data fields — such as characteristics, transaction history and home prices — may be shared
Explains how trade association activities, including rulemaking and data-sharing, can support independent decision-making and competition without facilitating collusion
The Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS) is asking the same fed agencies to support MLSs as “procompetitive collaborators” - HW
Zillow/Trulia/Chicagoland MLS Battle: Judge Steps In
A federal judge partially granted Zillow’s request for emergency relief in its escalating antitrust battle with Midwest Real Estate Data (MRED) and Compass.
The ruling represents an early but significant development in what is increasingly becoming one of the housing industry’s most closely watched battles over listing control, private inventory, and consumer access to housing data.
Why Mortgage Professionals Should Watch This Fight: For mortgage professionals, the case continues to highlight how listing distribution is becoming increasingly intertwined with mortgage lead generation and borrower acquisition.
Tennessee-based Realtracs is considering suspending Zillow access too: NMP
MOVING & SHAKING
Radian announced retirement of Rick Thornberry, announces appointment of Mike Weinbach as CEO.
CrossCountry Mortgage integrates with Blend, claims closing times cut by half.
Service 1st appointed Lucas Jones SVP of Operations.
Achieve appointed Nectar Kalajian to launch new third party HELOC origination channel Achieve Pro.
NEXA acquired a stake in Copper Ridge Ventures as part of JV strategy.
Point launched TPO for brokers, appointed Samuel Bjelac head of wholesale.
Total Expert announced expansion of its platform with an enhanced lead management capabilities.
Now There's an Idea: Buy a Platform Your Competitors Use: Xactus completed the acquisition of Mortgage Credit Link™ (MCL), a web-based order fulfillment hub that streamlines credit and verification data ordering from application to closing.
MARKET/INDUSTRY
A new fed fave? Core PCE came out last week, but with a new chair, is it still the Fed's favorite gauge of inflation? Oil had its sharpest decline since 2020, and Bill Bodnar talks about all that's coming up this week in his latest Master the Markets segment.
Mortgage Rates Average 6.53%: Freddie 5-28-26
Mortgage Applications Decreased 8.5% from One Week Earlier: MBA Weekly Survey for the week ending 5-22-26.
Homebuyer affordability declined in April, with the national median payment applied for by purchase applicants increasing to $2,152 from $2,131 in March. This is according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI).
Easing Upward: NAR PHS 4-26
Month Over Month:
1.4% increase in pending home sales
Gains in the Northeast, Midwest and West; decline in the South
Year Over Year:
3.2% increase in pending home sales
Gains in the Midwest, South and West; decline in the Northeast
“Buyers are coming out with cautious optimism despite increasing economic uncertainty and a slight rise in mortgage rates. Demand will easily be even higher once mortgage rates retreat to the levels they were at earlier this year.” - NAR Chief Economist Dr. Lawrence Yun.
New Home Sales Sluggish: HUD/Census Bureau
Sales of new single-family houses in April 2026 were at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 622,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 6.2% (±12.8%)* below the March 2026 rate of 663,000, and is 11.3 (±11.5%)* below the April 2025 rate of 701,000.
Contract Signings Strongest in 3 Years
Realtor.com’s Spring 2026 Housing Market Progress Report found that new listings and contract signings have each reached their highest levels since 2022, with contract signings up 4.5% year-over-year in April.
This new report shows the housing market is more dynamic through the first four months of 2026 than at any point since mortgage rates first surged in 2022.
Cancellations Cooling
Redfin says fewer buyers are bailing:
Contract cancellations declined slightly in April as homebuyers and sellers gained a clearer sense of the housing market after years of volatility, and as demand picked up.
Just over 47,000 U.S. home-sale agreements fell through in April, equal to 13.4% of homes that went under contract that month. That’s down incrementally (-0.1 percentage points) from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis.
It’s also tied with January for the lowest level of contract cancellations since September 2024, though the level has varied by less than half a percentage point over the last year and a half.
Extra Credit
FRED Says Spending is up
Consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.2% during the first quarter. Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 3.8%, while nonrevolving credit increased at an annual rate of 3%.
In March, consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 5.8%.
Normal, Not Alarming: ATTOM's 4-26 Foreclosure Market Report
In the April foreclosures by state report, activity declined from the prior month but increased from levels reported one year earlier, continuing a gradual normalization trend in the housing market. Nationally, one in every 3,388 housing units had a foreclosure filing in April.
More People Bailing: ATTOM's Q226 Vacant Property & Zombie Foreclosure Report
ATTOM’s Q2 2026 Vacant Property and Zombie Foreclosure Report found that the national residential vacancy rate held steady at 1.3%. At the same time, zombie foreclosures, properties abandoned by owners before foreclosure proceedings are completed, increased quarter-over-quarter in most states.