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.
- United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) is being sued by consumers in a proposed consumer class action filed on Tuesday, April 2, as reported by Reuters. The suit alleges that UWM “schemed” with brokers to “push homebuyers into expensive mortgages, costing them billions of dollars in excess fees.” Reuters reported that UWM’s statement to the press referred to the lawsuit as a “sham,” and said the company will “defend these allegations to the fullest extent permitted by law.”
- As the proposed settlement from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) continues to make waves, the organization issued two pleas to the Department of Veterans Affairs, GSEs and regulators. The letters request that buyer financing be supported in all mortgage formats to prevent any disadvantage for buyers following commission changes from the settlement. “This effort is one of several focused on supporting mortgage finance for buyers in the post-settlement environment,” said NAR in a statement to the press.
- Mortgage rates continued to see little significant movement again this week, according to the latest data from Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year FRM averaged 6.82%, up from last week’s 6.79%, while the 15-year FRM averaged 6.06%, down from last week’s 6.11%. “While incoming economic signals indicate lower rates of inflation, we do not expect rates will decrease meaningfully in the near-term,” commented Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater.
- As mortgage rates remain mostly stagnant, mortgage applications followed the same trend, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. Applications decreased by 0.6% this week, with little movement amongst the different mortgage categories as well. “Mortgage rates moved lower last week, but that did little to ignite overall mortgage application activity,” commented MBA Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist Joel Kan. “Elevated mortgage rates continued to weigh down on homebuying.”
