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Unsettling
By Jeff Walton & Kelly Guest
HousingWire reports that there are 15 real estate commission suit settlements up for final approval this week, and other sources report that plaintiffs are scrambling to avoid precedent creep. Meanwhile, National Mortgage Professional has a roundup story headlined, “Agent Fees Back Up to Normal.” In reality, how much agents are making in the wake of practice changes really depends on who you ask. And we wonder: Are surveys on commissions accurate if they’re reported by agents who want the public to think nothing’s changed?
FHFA Director Bill Pulte is the latest to pile on Powell, telling Fox Business that the Fed chair needs to cut rates or resign because “he’s doing a great injustice to this country.”
CHATTER
Guild Goes Private: Guild Holdings Company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement under which a fund managed by Bayview Asset Management, LLC (“Bayview”) will acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company's common stock that it does not already own in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $1.3B in aggregate equity value. Upon completion of the transaction, Guild will operate as a privately held independent entity in close partnership with Lakeview Loan Servicing.
Ta-Ta Tri-Merge? MBA Says It’s Time to Go
MBA says it wants to find a solution to the anticompetitive market and associated costs for tri-merge credit reports and other credit reporting products. From their statement:
“We have consistently advocated for competition in the credit reporting and score space and have urged policymakers to examine the drivers of recent steep price increases for these services to ensure transparency and to protect consumers from unnecessarily paying higher mortgage closing costs.”
In a recent letter, MBA asked FHFA to share their expertise on the issue and join in the conversation to consider ways to lower credit reporting costs.
Interesting: Rocket Pro TPO Partners with Grassroots “VA Influencer Group”
Rocket Pro is in a new partnership with grassroots advocacy and education group Vetted VA in an effort to root out misinformation in VA lending and elevate ethical standards across the industry.
“There’s a lot of misinformation — and I would even say intentional disinformation — that is floating out there about the utilization of the VA Home Loan. Veterans are less likely to shop. They’re very trusting. What that’s created is an environment where lenders ... are padding their margin and charging gross overextension of what should be in place.” - Katie Sweeney, EVP, Strategy and Broker Advocacy, Rocket Pro
Rithm Capital Corp. announced the close of a $504 million securitization backed by a pool of non-qualified residential mortgage (“Non-QM”) loans. The loans are serviced by Rithm’s subsidiary, Newrez LLC.
MOVING & SHAKING
Equity Prime Mortgage announced the promotion of Kenny Phillips to chief sales officer and the upcoming retirement of James Minghini, chief compliance officer.
Guaranteed Rate Affinity hired Linda Vo as Regional Manager - North Texas.
Evergreen Home Loans added Jon Stacy as Regional Manager as part of the company's long-term strategy to expand into the Midwest and to continue growing nationwide.
Gradient Mortgage Capital named Ed Ainbinder SVP of Sales (NMP).
AI Decisioning Software companyTRUEannounced the appointment of Steve Butler as Chief Executive Officer and company founder Ari Gross as Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer.
MARKET/INDUSTRY
OMG, TBD: No rate cut, just a nice scare from the Fed last week. In his latest Master the Markets segment, Bill Bodnar explains how the Fed released the updated "Summary of Economic Predictions," full of spooky inflation predictions for the back half of this year. After core PCE comes out this week, the next date to watch is July 9.
Mortgage Rates Creep Lower: Freddie said on 6-18-25 the average 30-year FRM reached a four-week low.
Mortgage Applications Decreased 2.6% From One Week Earlier: MBA Weekly Survey for the week ending 6-13-25.
A Flipping Increase: Flip Share of Total Home Sales up .09% QoQ - ATTOM Data
Flips were down .04% YoY in Q125 U.S. Home Flipping Report
ROI was 25% nationwide, down from 28% in the previous quarter and continuing a gradual decline from the recent high of 48.8% in the fall of 2020.
Gross profits on a typical flipped home were down to $65,000 from $70,000 in Q424. The typical investor paid $260,000 for a home they flipped in the first quarter of 2025 and sold the property for $325,000.
20K Homes That Didn’t Happen: NAHB/HBI Report Dives Into Construction Labor Shortage
Annual Economic Impact: The study estimates an aggregate economic impact of $10.806B per year due to longer construction times associated with the skilled labor shortage.
Higher Carrying Costs: The direct cost impact of extended construction times amounts to $2.663B annually.
Lost Production: The shortage has led to a reduction of approximately 19,000 single-family homes not built in 2024, representing an economic loss of $8.143B.
Incremental Construction Time: The unweighted average increase in construction time due to the labor shortage is 1.98 months, with smaller builders experiencing an even greater delay.
Nervous & Upbeat: TransUnion Q2 Consumer Pulse
Despite rising pessimism, majority of consumers remain optimistic about future finances:
o 55% of American consumers were optimistic about their household finances in the next 12 months, unchanged from Q2 2024 but three percentage points lower than Q1 2025.
o At the same time, pessimism about future finances rose four percentage points (to 27%) compared to a year ago, 5% higher than last quarter and an all-time high since TransUnion started measurement in Q1 2021.
Tariff uncertainty appears to feed credit appetite
o 87% Americans reported concern about the impact of current or possible tariffs on their household finances and 41% said they were very concerned.
o 67% of consumers said higher prices of products would be the biggest impact of current or potential tariffs to them personally — followed by reduced product availability (44%) and higher interest rates (33%).
Recession fears reemerge, but inflation concerns reign supreme
o Inflation (81%) remained in consumers’ top three financial concerns despite a three-percentage-point, year-over-year decline and quarter-over-quarter flattening.
o Meanwhile, fear of a recession as a top three financial concern jumped nine percentage points from last quarter and seven percentage points from Q2 2024 to 52% — its highest level in two years.
Connecti-cutting Zombies: CT Gov Signs Bill Putting 10-Yr Limit on Ability to Foreclose
Connecticut homeowners will be protected from foreclosure threats tied to long-dormant second home loans, often referred to as “zombie mortgages,” under legislation signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont.
The new law places a 10-year statute of limitations on the collection of second mortgage debt when lenders have stopped communicating or have taken no action to collect. The bill received near-unanimous approval in both chambers of the General Assembly.
Rising Costs Hit Mortgaged/Free & Clear Owners: First American
The average monthly cost of owning a home in the U.S. soared to over $1,700 in 2023—a 17 percent increase from 2020—driven by across-the-board cost increases in mortgages, utilities, property taxes, and insurance.
While mortgage holders face higher overall expenses, outright owners are seeing their housing budgets stretched more rapidly relative to income.
Since 2020, both mortgage holders and outright owners have seen a gradual increase in the share of income going toward housing—pointing to a steady increase in pressure, not a sudden affordability crisis.
“While today’s homeownership costs as a share of income aren’t without historical precedent—similar to levels seen in 2018 for mortgage holders and 2015 for outright owners—the pace and scope of recent increases suggest the dream of homeownership is becoming harder to attain and sustain.” – First American Sr. Economist Sam Williamson