Power House

The Housing News Podcast is a weekly wrap of the top news stories by HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins. Each week, HousingWire interviews financial services experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines sponsored by our partners at Arch MI and Quicken Loans Mortgage Services. This week, MBS Highway Founder and CEO Barry Habib, who was recently named the 2020 winner of the Crystal Ball Award, presented by Zillow and Pulsenomics, joins the Housing News Podcast for its fifth episode of season three. In the first half of this two-show episode, Habib discusses the Coronavirus’ impact on the U.S. housing market and explains how a global pandemic hurled the housing finance industry in an economic storm that has yet to pass. Habib, who says “not even Stephen King could have scripted this”, also explains why the Federal Reserve’s desire to lower mortgage rates isn’t just damaging for mortgage servicers, but lenders who now fear losing the ability to hedge their risk. According to Habib, not only does the Federal Reserve need to temporarily slow MBS purchases to allow pipelines to clear, but they must more clearly communicate that mortgage rates and the Fed Funds Rate are not one and the same.Advertiser Disclaimer: Quicken Loans Mortgage Services (QLMS) – Call for cost information and conditions. Equal housing lender. Licensed in all 50 states. NMLSConsumerAccess.org #3030.

The Housing News Podcast is a weekly wrap of the top news stories by HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins. Each week, HousingWire interviews financial services experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines. In this custom episode presented by Ellie Mae, HousingWire Community Editor Brena Nath talks with Ellie Mae President and CEO Jonathan Corr to discuss the state of the mortgage industry and gives some advice on how lenders and companies can navigate everything going on in the industry. Corr also gives an inside look at Ellie Mae’s new Virtual Experience 2020 Conference and the unique opportunities it offers attendees to interact with leading experts and their peers on the top issues in the industry right now. “This is a stressful time for everybody, but how do you put yourself in a position to come out stronger and smarter and faster on the other side?” Corr said. “It really is in times of challenge and crisis where the folks who take it as an opportunity to invest in themselves always end up being more successful when the clouds clear and the sun comes back up.” For the latest updates on Ellie Mae’s Virtual Experience 2020 Conference, go here.

Each week, HousingWire interviews financial services experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines sponsored by our partners at Arch MI and Quicken Loans Mortgage Services. This week, Glenn Stearns, who has undoubtedly been one of the biggest names in mortgage lending over the last 30 years, joins the Housing News Podcast for its fourth episode of season three. Stearns, who founded Stearns Lending in 1989, joins the Housing News Podcast to discuss his new company, Kind Lending, which touts itself as a “fresh and edgy approach to mortgage banking.” Additionally, the trailblazer discusses current market conditions, which have been changing each day as Coronavirus continues to take its toll on the mortgage industry. According to Stearns, who survived the Housing Crisis of the 2000s, if mortgage companies want to survive this period of uncertainty, they will need to invest in technology and learn how to better communicate. Here’s more detail on the topics of discussion this week: Glenn Stearns founded the mortgage company that carries his name, Stearns Lending, in 1989. And in the convening years, Stearns helped build the company into one of the biggest mortgage companies in the nation. But Stearns has laid somewhat low in the last year or so, but he is being quiet no more. Stearns is launching a new mortgage company, Kind Lending. Quicken Loans recently joined the thousands of companies that are encouraging (if not requiring) their employees to work from home to combat the spread of COVID-19. But the nation’s largest mortgage lender is hardly the only company that is moving to a remote work policy as the concern over the virus worsens. The Federal Finance Agency, Guaranteed Rate, Caliber Home Loans, and United Wholesale Mortgage are just a few names reassessing their workplace procedures. The White House and the Federal Housing Finance Agency are calling for up to 12 months of mortgage forbearance for Americans who can’t pay their bills because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The amount of people needing that help is so big, it might require the Federal Reserve to flex its muscles, according to a report from Cowen Washington Research Group. Specifically, the Fed might have to use Sec. 13 of the Federal Reserve Act that covers emergency lending, it said. And here are links to the topics discussed: 1) Glenn Stearns is back, launches Kind Lendinghttps://www.housingwire.com/articles/glenn-stearns-is-back-launches-kind-lending/ 2) Here’s how the mortgage industry is reacting to the coronavirus https://www.housingwire.com/articles/heres-how-the-mortgage-industry-is-reacting-to-the-coronavirus/ 3) Can the Fed help Americans get mortgage forbearance?https://www.housingwire.com/articles/can-the-fed-help-amer

This week, Robert Broeksmit, the president and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, joins the Housing News team to discuss the mortgage industry’s challenges during this tumultuous time. In this episode, Broeksmit explains the MBA’s approach to borrower relief, as regulators move to suspended foreclosures and evictions. He also touches base on potential liquidity backstops for servicers, bank regulatory flexibility for lenders, legislation permitting remote online notarization nationwide, streamlining the refinance process and more.

The Housing News Podcast is a weekly wrap of the top news stories by HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins. Each week, HousingWire interviews financial services experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines sponsored by our partners at Arch MI and Quicken Loans. This week, Sherry Graziano, the head of Mortgage Omni experience at SunTrust, which has now been named Truist, joins the Housing News Podcast for episode two of season 3. In this episode, which was recorded two weeks ago during the nation’s interest rate debacle, Graziano discusses the housing market's low-interest-rate environment, which continues to change day-to-day, and what it means for the mortgage industry as more and more lenders report a surge in both refinance and purchase volume. Additionally, she explains why relationships are key in the housing space. Here’s more detail on the topics of discussion this week: The Federal Reserve made its second emergency cut in two weeks, slashing 1% off its benchmark rate, and renewed a program to buy Treasuries and mortgage bonds in an effort to bolster the economy as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 spreads in the U.S. As the mortgage business continues to try to deal with the repercussions of interest rates hitting an all-time low early March, it appears that some lenders are inflating their advertised mortgage rates to try to stem the tidal wave of mortgage applications they’re receiving. Mortgage rates fell to an all-time low two weeks ago, and lenders across the country are now dealing with a deluge of mortgage applications as borrowers rush to both buy and refinance. But are some of those same lenders keeping borrowers from getting even lower interest rates than they already are? The answer: Possibly.

This week, the New York Times bestselling author Tom Ferry joins the Housing News Podcast for its season finale. Ferry, also known as the #1 Real Estate Coach, is an industry titan that offers the nation’s real estate agents’ advice on how best to market themselves. In this week’s episode, the fellow podcast host and Swanepoel Power 200 winner, explains how real estate agents and brokers can utilize social media and technology to set themselves apart, as well as what it takes to win in today’s real estate industry.

Housing Policy Council President and former Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Ed DeMarco visited HousingWire to talk about the latest developments on the Qualified Mortgage and the Ability to Repay rule. In this podcast episode, DeMarco talks about the shifts in the QM, and what it would mean to remove the debt-to-income requirement from Ability to Repay. Is the pricing threshold a better option, or could it be better used to determined what isn't QM, instead of what is? DeMarco explains the difference, and what his take on it is.

This week, Carl Tyree, the executive vice president and chief sales officer at Arch MI, joins the show for a bonus episode. Tyree is an industry titan, currently overseeing Arch MI’s sales teams and relationship strategies. Prior to joining Arch MI, he held senior sales and sales leadership roles with Republic Mortgage Insurance Company, Nomura Credit and Capital and Ocwen Financial Corporation.

This week, Thomas Sponholtz, the CEO and chairman at Union Home Ownership Investors, discusses his industry origin story, as well as his determination to bring housing innovation to the United States. Additionally, Sponholtz touches base on new QM lending rules and the housing sector's emergence of alternative homeownership models, which he says will be needed to better service homebuyers.

This week, we’re bringing you something special – our first-ever cross over bonus episode. In this bonus episode, Collins sits down with Phil Treadwell, the vice president of development and regional manager at Mason-McDuffie, who also happens to be the host of fellow Industry Syndicate podcast the Mortgage Marketing Expert. The two discuss Collins’ evolution within the mortgage industry, as well as HousingWire’s emergence as a top industry publication. Additionally, Treadwell and Collins touch base on some of the industry’s hottest topics, ranging from recession fear, mortgage rates, first-time homebuyers and more.

This week, Ben Lane, the managing editor of HousingWire, discusses Visa’s announced acquisition of technology platform and 2019 HW Tech100 winner Plaid. The agreement, which represents a total purchase consideration of $5.3 billion, enables Visa to deliver more value for developers, financial institutions and consumers, according to the company.

This week, Bill Dallas, the president at Finance of America Mortgage and co-founder of Cloudvirga, discusses his evolution in the mortgage industry, as well as the importance of creating innovative products for today’s mortgage brokers and lenders. Additionally, Dallas touches base on the nation’s lack of housing inventory and how the rise of homeowners aging in place is impacting origination volumes.

This week, Phil Shoemaker, the executive managing director and chief business officer at Home Point Financial, discusses three housing trends to watch for in 2020. According to Shoemaker, the housing industry will see a boost in mergers and acquisitions, as well as broker expansions. Additionally, Shoemaker says the industry is likely to see an increase in technology in 2020.

This week, Jonathan Corr, the president, and CEO of Ellie Mae discusses the company being acquired by Thoma Bravo, as well as Ellie Mae's recent acquisition of fintech company Capsilon. Additionally, Corr details his market outlook for 2020.

This week, Alex Elezaj, the chief strategy officer at United Wholesale Mortgage, discusses the impact low-interest rates are projected to have on home lending. Additionally, Elezaj explains what the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s decision to increase loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could mean for the mortgage industry.

This week, David Battany, the executive vice president of capital markets at Guild Mortgage, discuss the housing market’s lack of significant inventory as well as the nation’s budding market for manufactured homes. Additionally, Battany explains what the industry needs to do to get more first-time homebuyers into homes.

This week, Collins joins us live from AIME FUSE 2019. The conference, which hosted more than 2,000 mortgage brokers from around the country, was held last month at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada. In an exciting conversation, Ryan Serhant, the wildly successful real estate broker featured on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing New York” and “Sell It Like Serhant,” discusses his national bestseller as well as the intriguing story of the ever so elusive Mr. X. Additionally, Serhant offers advice on how mortgage brokers can make sure they are setting themselves up for success. Although the interview is loud, as it was recorded in a room full of hundreds of brokers, the conversation is worth the listen. So, forgive us for the background noise, and join us for another exciting episode of the Housing News Podcast.

This week, Gary Beasley, the CEO, and co-founder of Roofstock, explains the origin story of his online real estate investment company, as well as the company’s evolution throughout the years. Additionally, Beasley discusses America’s single-family rental market, which he says continues to attract more and more institutional capital.

This week, Daren Blomquist, the vice president of market economics at Auction.com, has a very data-focused conversation about America’s economy, the housing market’s lack of affordability, and the growing presence of opportunity zones.

This week, Michael Miedler, the president and CEO of Century 21, kicks off season two of the Housing News Podcast. Miedler discusses his accession within the real estate industry, as well as what it takes for agents to thrive in an “experience economy.” Additionally, Miedler touches base on some of housing’s hottest topics ranging from Millennial homebuyers to inventory and affordability woes.

This week, Doug Duncan, the chief economist at Fannie Mae, closes out season one of the Housing News Podcast with a bang. Duncan takes a look at several industry hot topics ranging from the nation's lack of housing supply to its changing demographics. Additionally, Duncan discusses the likelihood of an economic recession and what that could mean for the housing industry.

This week, Tom Hutchens, the EVP of production at Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, explains to listeners the role of Non-QM lending and what the expiration of the QM Patch could mean for the housing industry. Additionally, Hutchens discusses the nation’s homebuying confidence, which climbed to new heights in July.In July, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau expressed its intent to allow the QM Patch to expire as early as 2021, and Fannie Mae's Home Purchase Sentiment Index indicated that America’s housing confidence peaked to its highest level at 93.7 points.

This week, Shelley Leonard, the chief product officer and EVP of Black Knight, discusses her 26-year tenure in the mortgage industry. Additionally, the HousingWire Vanguard winner explains how low mortgage rates are impacting the nation’s mortgage servicers and homeowners. Last week, Freddie Mac reported that the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.75%, falling significantly from its 2018 rate of 4.60%. Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater says these low rates paired with the nation’s healthy economy are now projected to provide continued improvement in home sales heading into the late summer and early fall.

This week, Kal Elsayed, the President and CEO of Guidance Residential, a faith-based home financing company, explains the importance of working with underserved communities. Additionally, Elsayed discusses the Federal Reserve’s poised rate cut and the nation’s Millennial homeownership trends. Earlier this week, The Federal Reserve announced it was prepared to cut its benchmark rate for the first time since 2008, and a survey from realtor.com indicated that affordability continues to prevent Millennials from entering the housing market as first-time buyers.

Each week, HousingWire interviews financial services experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines, sponsored by our partners at Blend. This week, Ben Lane, the newly appointed managing editor of HousingWire’s editorial team, discusses his experiences in covering the housing economy for the last five and a half years. Additionally, Lane touches base on the massive mortgage partnership between State Farm and Quicken Loans, and Fannie Mae’s recently updated mortgage forecast.Last week, State Farm and Quicken Loans announced that State Farm’s licensed loan originators will now be able to originate mortgages using Quicken’s Rocket Mortgage platform, and Fannie Mae issued a new forecast that predicts the average U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage will sit at 3.7% in the second half of 2019.

This week, Rich Weidel, the CEO of Princeton Mortgage, explains why accessing loan origination risks is essential to staying afloat in the mortgage industry. Additionally, Weidel touches base on the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Stearns Holding (the parent company of Stearns Lending) and the U.S. closing of real estate company Purplebricks. Earlier this week, Stearns announced the company was launching a comprehensive financial restructuring plan to realign its business, and Purplebricks indicated it planned to refocus its growth efforts in the U.K. and Canada.

The Housing News podcast is a weekly wrap of HousingWire's top news stories. Each week, HousingWire interviews mortgage and real estate experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines. This week, Anthony Casa, the chairman of the Association of Independent Mortgage Experts and the founder and former president of Garden State Home Loans, explains why President Donald Trump's decision to back the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act is good news for the mortgage industry.

The Housing News podcast is a weekly wrap of HousingWire's top news stories. Each week, HousingWire interviews mortgage and real estate experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines. This week, Alec Hanson, LoanDepot’s SVP and Pacific Southwest division manager, and TJ Freeborn, SVP of Customer Experience, discuss the importance of incorporating human interaction within the loan origination process.

The Housing News podcast is a weekly wrap of HousingWire's top news stories. Each week, HousingWire interviews mortgage and real estate experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines. This week, Mason-McDuffie Mortgage's Vice President of Development and Regional Manager Phil Treadwell explains how mortgage professionals can best navigate a low interest rate environment.

The Housing News podcast is a weekly wrap of HousingWire's top news stories. Each week, HousingWire interviews mortgage and real estate experts who can help make sense of the latest headlines. This week, Cobalt Credit Union’s Chief Lending Officer Alan Stoltenberg discusses the importance of putting power back into the hands of homebuyers.

The Housing News podcast is a weekly wrap of HousingWire's top news stories. HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney interviews Norm Creveling, the chief lending officer for Wings Financial Credit Union. In this episode, Creveling talks about the emergence of digital mortgages, the current housing market, and trends in consumer credit scores. Don’t miss it!

The Housing News podcast is a weekly wrap of HousingWire's top news stories. HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney interviews Tim Mayopoulos, the President of Blend. In this episode, Mayopoulos discusses his transition from GSE to Fintech, as well as the current market outlook for mortgage lenders.

The Housing News podcast is a weekly wrap of HousingWire's top news stories. HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney interviews Alpa Lally, Experian’s Vice President of Data Business at Consumer Information Services. As an American immigrant, Lally brings listeners a unique perspective from within the credit reporting services.

The Housing News podcast is a weekly wrap of HousingWire's top news stories. Each week, Gaffney interviews financial services experts who can make sense of the latest headlines, sponsored by our partners at Blend. This week, Jerry Anderson of Alliant Credit Union discusses homebuyers, interest rates and the latest technology trends in the mortgage industry.

Adolfo Marzol knows firsthand about this nation's long history with taking in, and housing refugees. In fact, his parents emigrated from Cuba in 1961. How did the Marzols know they had made it in America? They bought their first house, he tells HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney in the finale of our exclusive podcast, 6 Questions with 6 HUD Executives.

On this episode of 6 Questions with 6 HUD Executives, HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney sits down with Ginnie Mae Executive Vice President and COO Michael Bright to talk about affordable housing, the securities market and Ginnie Mae crossing the $2 trillion threshold.

On the newest episode of our exclusive podcast series, 6 Questions for 6 HUD Executives, Farias sits down with Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney to discuss her colorful upbringing, her current enforcement actions and the real reason HUD went after Facebook. Look out for episode 6 next week, featuring Ginnie Mae's Michael Bright.

HUD CFO Irving Dennis joined the agency earlier this year after nearly four decades at Ernst & Young, where he was a partner overseeing the audits of major S&P 500 companies. In this exclusive podcast, Dennis talks about his move to the public sector and the passion that drives him.

Brian Montgomery was confirmed as FHA commissioner in May by a vote in the Senate of 74 to 23. But this wasn’t his first trip to the HUD c-suite, this is his second run leading the FHA and he’s been serving the public sector in several roles for quite some time.Still, it’s a far cry from back when he thought he’d become a geologist, before housing “got into [his] blood,” as he tells HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney in our latest, exclusive podcast series: 6 Questions for 6 HUD Executives.What’s the biggest challenge facing the FHA today? Access to tech solutions, he explains, which is not surprising as some HUD systems are nearing 40 years of use. So what’s the solution, here? It’s a big one, Montgomery explains.All that and more, please listen and enjoy.Tune in on Monday, Oct. 15 for our fourth episode featuring Irving Dennis, HUD's chief financial officer.

Who brings housing hope to those deeply impacted by natural disasters? Who will help the 117,000 FHA-backed homeowners of Puerto Rico? In the second episode of exclusive podcast series, 6 Questions with 6 HUD Executives, Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney speaks with HUD Deputy Secretary Pamela Hughes Patenaude about disaster recovery, the impact of the opioid epidemic and the interconnected nature of the nation's housing policy.[Music by https://www.free-stock-music.com]

Welcome to the inaugural episode of HousingWire's new, exclusive podcast, 6 Questions with 6 HUD Executives. In this episode, Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney interviews Secretary Ben Carson about goals, motivations, the state of affordable housing and more.[Music by https://www.free-stock-music.com]

In this edition of In The Winner's Circle, Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney sits down with Ben Miller, SimpleNexus president and COO. SimpleNexus recently secured a multimillion dollar investment and Miller discusses how that money is fueling the expansion efforts at the firm.[Music by http://purple-planet.com]

In this edition of In The Winner's Circle, Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney sits down with Bob Brandt, VP of Marketing and Strategic Alliances at Optimal Blue. In this episode, Brandt discusses the three layers of analytics need for mortgage firms to be successful, both in mortgage lending and mortgage investing.[Music by http://purple-planet.com]

In the final installment of the Regtech Report, a podcast series sponsored by ComplianceEase, HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney talks with the CEO of LoanLogics, Brian Fitzpatrick, on the next wave of significant mortgage disruption: regtech. Fitzpatrick outlines the roadblocks facing the full end-to-end implementation of the digital mortgage. According to Fitzpatrick, regtech can help us get there in ways that "traditional fintech has failed."[Music by http://purple-planet.com]

In the fourth episode of the Regtech Report, Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney speaks with Chuck Cross, SVP at Conference of State Bank Supervisors. Cross explains how state regulators are building a tech-based system for compliance in the financial services sector and that tech implementation is a win-win.[Music by http://purple-planet.com]

September marks the first official retirement days of two mortgage lending titans. In an exclusive interview with Jacob Gaffney, David Stevens, former head of the Mortgage Bankers Association, and Brad Blackwell, former EVP of housing policy and homeownership growth strategies at Wells Fargo Home Lending, reflect on their careers, friendship and where they think the industry is headed.[Music by http://purple-planet.com]

For the third installment of the Regtech Report, a five-part podcast series sponsored by ComplianceEase, HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney chats with Debbie Hoffman, the founder and CEO of Symmetry Blockchain Advisors, about how regtech and blockchain fit in the mortgage finance space together.[Music by http://purple-planet.com]

For episode #2 of HousingWire’s Regtech Report, Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney is joined by Jason Roth, co-founder and chief technology officer of ComplianceEase, which is also our sponsor. During the conversation, Roth explains common defects and errors in mortgage lending that are now handled by humans that will eventually be automated. He also touches on regulators reach on regtech implementation.[Music by http://purple-planet.com]

While regtech is a relatively new concept in the mortgage industry, it has already gained a great deal of traction in other parts of banking and financial services. Craig Focardi, a senior banking analyst at Celent, talks with HousingWire about what makes regtech different from mortgage tech and how you shouldn't be afraid to make the leap into adopting new technologies.[Music by http://purple-planet.com]

In this episode of In The Winner's Circle, HousingWire Editor-in-Chief Jacob Gaffney sits down with Mat Ishbia, CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage. In a fast-paced and energetic discussion, Mat explains why "100% of our focus is on mortgage brokers," what is next for the company, and the VA lending headache some lenders are experiencing.