Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s weekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it each Friday afternoon.
-Top brass from some of the largest and most influential lenders in the country told RISMedia this week they are taking a variety of different approaches to tackling 2024’s challenges, from investing more in tech to launching new programs. Decision-makers at United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), loanDepot, Guaranteed Rate and others detailed a variety of ways they would seek a leg up this year, all seeking the best path through the current high-rate, low-inventory landscape.
-The Federal Reserve, while holding rates steady at its most recent meeting, signaled it is still targeting three rate cuts this year, unchanged from December. That could mean that mortgage rates stay higher for longer, though economists still expect a “gradual” decline through 2024.
-A selection of housing experts, including Mike Fratantoni—chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA)—testified to a house panel on housing affordability, focusing on issues of regulation, inventory and fair housing. Fratantoni highlighted to the panel that half of purchase mortgages are still utilized by first-time homebuyers, who depend on government mortgages.
-More entities and experts are revising their predictions for the mortgage industry. According to National Mortgage News, the MBA slightly raised its projections for volume this year, while Freddie Mac also raised its projections for rates.
