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’s (UWM) 0% down payment product has faced some recent backlash from the industry, as reported by National Mortgage News. The program offers borrowers a 3% down payment second lien of up to $15,000. According to a CNN report, “critics have labeled it a red flag, reminiscent of the lending practices that contributed to the Great Financial Crisis.” The company has stated however that this is a sound product that requires total income and asset verification, adheres to strict federal guidelines and is a fixed-rate mortgage.
–Rocket Mortgage continues to grow their use of AI to advance their systems with a new partnership with Instabase, according to Business Wire. The partnership gives Rocket the ability to automate data extraction from the 1.5 million documents they receive monthly. The company stated that this addition to Rocket’s technology and several others have given them the ability to close loans 2.5 times faster than the industry average.
–Data stolen from a LendingTree subsidiary is being auctioned on “cybercriminal forums” to the highest bidder, according to a report from Bloomberg News. Hackers were able to access 165 customer accounts on QuoteWizard, an insurance research tool owned by LendingTree, and are asking for amounts between $300,000 and $5 million for datasets. LendingTree is investigating whether the attack was part of a larger breach of the cloud service it relies on for data operations.
–A&D Mortgage was recently celebrated for their achievements in AI, receiving a Gold award in the Achievement in Artificial Intelligence category at the 9th Annual 2024 Globee® Awards for American Business, according to Business Wire. Judges praised A&D Mortgage for its “clear focus on innovation, leveraging AI technology to streamline internal processes and enhance client-facing products.”
–Mortgage rates hit the lowest level seen in three months this week, according to the latest data from Freddie Mac. The 30-year FRM averaged 6.86%, down from last week when it averaged 6.87%—marking the fourth straight week of decreases.
-As mortgage rates continue to decrease, mortgage applications rose for the third straight week, according to the MBA’s latest report. Overall applications rose 0.8% from one week earlier, however refinancing applications remain lower on the spectrum.
