Caliber Home Loans fined $2.3M for overcharging California borrowers

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) confirmed on Monday that it has reached a $2.3 million settlement with former mortgage lender and servicer Caliber Home Loans Inc. California regulators found that in 2016, Caliber overcharged borrowers per diem interest and lat

Greystone’s $103M affordable housing fund to support rental units in six states

New York-based Greystone Real Estate Capital has closed its first affordable housing fund, raising $103 million to finance nearly 1,000 rental units across six states. The fund — called Greystone Affordable Housing Fund I LP — will support a total of 11 developments in Louisiana, Massachusetts, Miss

VA loan homebuyers navigate NAR settlement with ease

As the real estate industry prepared for the business practice changes outlined in the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) nationwide commission lawsuit settlement agreement, one of the biggest questions was how the changes would impact veteran homebuyers wishing to use their loan benefit from t

WFG National Title launches Agent 3.0 with AI, automation focus

WFG National Title Insurance Co. has introduced Agent 3.0, which will offer users expanded options for artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. The program follows rollout of Agent 2.0 earlier this year, which emphasized personalized support and growth tools for title agents. Leaders said Agent

HUD’s English-only policy slams the door on the American Dream

“One voice” or no voice at all? As of August 2025, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is officially enforcing an English-only policy across its operations. Under direction from the Trump administration’s executive order that declared English the “official language” of the Uni

Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett bets big on homebuilders

Businessman and investment icon Warren Buffett is making waves in the housing industry. Documents filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) revealed that Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway has made major investments in homebuilders Lennar and D.R. Horton.  According to the filing,

New-home purchase mortgage demand kept growing in July

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)’s Builder Application Survey data for July 2025, released on Monday, shows that mortgage applications for new-home purchases increased 6.8% compared from a year ago. Compared to June 2025, applications increased by 7%. This change does not include any adjustmen

Mortgage spreads cushion mortgage rates against warm inflation data

Inflation data was warm last week, but mortgage rates remain near their lowest levels for 2025 because mortgage spreads continue to outperform. Last week featured a hot Producer Price Index (PPI) report and a core Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate of 3.1% year-over-year, and still — mortgage

The Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals pushes for condo guideline changes

Florida homebuyers are facing the same affordability challenges that other housing markets are grappling with, but with added regulatory hurdles if they want to buy a condo. The Florida Association of Mortgage Professionals (FAMP), which is hosting its annual convention this week in Orlando, is addr

As Social Security turns 90, what will its future hold?

The Social Security system celebrated its 90th birthday this week. In the wake of this milestone, several policy analysts and news outlets offered their thoughts on the program’s past, present and future. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) noted that the safety net program that cu

MBA opposes GSE merger, supports explicit government guarantee

In the debate over whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should merge, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has remained consistent: “We don’t think that would be a good idea,” chief economist Mike Fratantoni said. The trade group supports a stock offering that preserves stability in the secondary mo

Tech Pulse: AI Summit delves deep on housing industry impacts

Welcome back to Tech Pulse — HousingWire‘s weekly series rounding up the latest in technology news, including tools, integrations and trends that impact mortgage and real estate. Read on for a rundown of speakers who shared expert insight at this past week’s HousingWire AI Summit in Dallas. Talk ran

LeadingRE adds Rejig.ai to preferred vendor program

Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE) has added Rejig.ai to its Solutions Group, a collection of preferred business resources available to its global network of 550 real estate firms. Rejig.ai provides automated digital marketing tools for real estate agents, teams and brokerages. I

Redfin: Multifamily housing permits fall from pandemic highs

Permits for new multifamily housing construction have declined from the pace set during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Redfin analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. Developers secured an average of 12.8 permits for buildings with at least five units per 10,000 people from July 2024 through June

Hurricane season arrives amid homeowners insurance hikes

As Hurricane Erin becomes the first hurricane of the 2025 season, homeowners in many parts of the U.S. are already facing double-digit insurance rate hikes, and insurers in some areas continue to pull out altogether. In high-risk, catastrophe-prone regions, homeowners’ premiums are projected to rise

Lenders urged to build AI compliance foundations sooner rather than later

Mortgage lenders deploying artificial intelligence should prepare now for Colorado’s comprehensive AI law that will take effect in February 2026 and rethink how they manage compliance risk. That’s according to Mike Brown, chief product officer at Xactus, and Wendy Lee, managing partner at LOGS Legal

Better CFO Kevin Ryan adds Houlihan Lokey role amid executive shake-up

Several senior executives in Better’s control and finance teams, including chief financial officer Kevin Ryan, have taken additional jobs or left the company as it navigates financial pressures, according to public announcements and updates to social media profiles.  In July, Ryan also joined invest

TidalWave’s Diane Yu on AI’s impact to mortgage jobs

The promise that artificial intelligence brings to the mortgage ecosystem through faster processes and reduced expenses is also accompanied by the potential threat it poses to human roles. While the next two years could see an acceleration of AI-related job losses, Diane Yu urges mortgage profession

Future unveils Alpha, an in-house AI mortgage system

A small fish in the pond of fintech-focused mortgage companies is trying to race to the front in the artificial intelligence arms race. And it’s not using a typical ChatGPT-style program either. Future Technologies CEO Blake Bianchi announced on Thursday that the company is launching a full-stack, p

NEXA Mortgage hires Eric Mitchell to help boost LO count

In its quest to bring its loan officer count up to 5,000, NEXA Mortgage announced Thursday that it has brought on Eric Mitchell to assist with its goal. Mitchell will serve as a “key hire” recruiting partner for NEXA, newly appointed chief operating officer Jason duPont said in an interview with Hou