The ALTA Elite Provider Program recognizes service providers that demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting the title insurance industry and the professionals who serve consumers every day, ALTA CEO Chris Morton said in the announcement.
Ginsburg stated that treating builder business as a core pillar rather than a side channel reflects a broader industry shift. He believes a healthy balance of builders should be around 15% to 20% of the overall retail book of business.
By combining Betenbough Companies' understanding of local homebuyers with loanDepot's operational and customer service expertise, this collaboration puts the customer first, streamlining the process from application to closing and making homeownership more accessible, efficient and personalized.
Setpoint, which serves more than 200 customers and supports more than 14 asset classes through its software platform for asset-backed finance, provides technology-enabled diligence and verification services designed to speed loan reviews. The company uses AI-assisted document verification, centralized collateral management, and upfront visibility into guidelines and ratings agency eligibility. The future of diligence is built on better infrastructure, said Stu Wall, co-founder and CEO of Setpoint.
Lenders use debt-to-income ratio to determine how much a potential borrower can afford to pay on a mortgage. This ratio includes most sources of debt and income, but it doesn't include everyday expenses like utilities or groceries. Generally, having a higher debt-to-income ratio makes it harder to secure financing to buy a house.
In most cases, lenders will not issue a traditional mortgage for land that does not already have a home or building on it. Mortgages are designed for developed properties because houses provide immediate collateral value and are generally easier to sell if a borrower defaults.
As a subservicer, we are completely subject to the origination volumes of our lender clients. Generally, they are all optimistic that 2026 will generate higher volumes than 2025, but by what amount is not clear. Structural constraints are limiting broader industry expansion, and targeted improvements to the HECM program are needed.
Refinance applications increased for the fourth straight week to the strongest pace since 2022, with conventional refinances up 20%. The increase in the average loan size for refinances indicates that more borrowers with larger loan sizes are seeking to lower their monthly payments.
Introductory period: The initial fixed-rate phase before adjustments begin. Adjustment period: How frequently the rate can change after the intro period ends. Index: The benchmark interest rate used to calculate future rate changes. Margin: The lender's fixed markup added to the index. Initial cap: Limits how much the rate can increase at the first adjustment. Periodic cap: Limits how much the rate can change at each adjustment. Lifetime cap: The maximum interest rate allowed over the entire loan term.
The launch of A4 Credit Partners marks a significant expansion into a niche lending market that is increasingly underserved, Arvind Chary, managing partner and co-founder of Atlas Real Estate Partners, said in a statement. We see an opportunity to deliver strong yields to investors through quarterly cash distributions, while providing borrowers with efficient, reliable access to capital for residential transitions and renovations, historically provided by hard money lenders.
I've known HighTech over the years, back when Don Currie was running the company. And I've been in the reverse mortgage industry for a very long time, so HighTech was a name I knew quite well. Really, I started getting to know them better as David Peskin joined and some of my old colleagues did too. I kind of knew Kevin Blakeney, who was working on their call center.
The deal follows a period of rapid expansion for Lower, including the launch of a West Coast division in December led by Gino Fronti as the company continues to invest in geographic growth and talent across the country. The company also announced an acquisition of real estate portal Movoto from parent company OJO Labs in May 2025 and software company Neat Labs at the tail end of 2024.
Permanent vs. temporary buydowns A mortgage buydown can take place over a set period of time or the duration of the loan. Permanent mortgage buydown With this option, you'll buy a lower rate for the entirety of the loan term at closing from your lender through discount points. Unlike a temporary mortgage buydown, the rate will never increase. Temporary mortgage buydown With this arrangement, your mortgage interest rates will be reduced for a period of time before returning to the standard amount.
Cenlar has a subservicing platform with $740 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB) and 2 million loans across 100 clients, generating about $460 million in revenue in 2025. But $307 billion in UPB will not transition to Pennymac because some clients mainly UWM are bringing their subservicing activities in house. Pennymac tied part of the acquisition cost $85 million in contingent consideration payable over three years to client retention.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is deeply entrenched in the U.S. system. It benefits from decades of investor demand, a robust securitization framework and established insurance support. Once loan terms extend beyond 30 years, those structural advantages begin to erode. There is also a cost that often gets overlooked. A 50-year mortgage dramatically increases the total interest paid over the life of the loan. While monthly payments may appear more manageable, borrowers can end up paying nearly double the interest compared to a traditional 30-year mortgage.
Housing affordability conditions improved for the seventh consecutive month to close out 2025 because of lower mortgage rates and steady household earnings growth, said Edward Seiler, MBA's associate vice president of housing economics and executive director of the Research Institute for Housing America. MBA expects that moderating home-price appreciation, combined with even lower mortgage rates, will continue to gradually ease affordability constraints and support increased housing market activity.
