– After weeks of mortgage rates falling down in the opening weeks of 2026, mortgage rates have now climbed back up above 6% following the commencement of the U.S.-Iran war. As of the week of March 26, the 30–year fixed mortgage rate has reached 6.38%, up from 6.22% the previous week. As rates have risen, mortgage applications have fallen—the latest MBA survey found that applications declined by 10.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week of March 26.
– Better Home & Finance and the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase have partnered to offer mortgages where borrowers can offer crypto assets as collateral backing the loan. These mortgages will also be backed by Fannie Mae, continuing a push by the Trump administration to bring crypto assets into the mortgage space—last year, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte announced that Fannie and Freddie Mac would be considering crypto assets in mortgage applications.
– Credit bureau TransUnion is offering a new tool to agents, TruLookup, that offers property ownership verification and lead prospecting, among other tools. Reporting by National Mortgage Professional highlights that this tool can create more direct lead generation for agents at the cost of loan originator referral pipelines.
– United Wholesale Mortgage has been looking to acquire the real estate investment trust Two Harbors—and noted the ongoing acquisition during its Q4 2025 earnings call—but the company has found itself in a bidding war. The mortgage servicer CrossCountry made an unsolicited, all-cash acquisition offer to Two Harbors, which is apparently now weighing its options. “There can be no assurance that this process will result in TWO entering into an amended agreement with UWMC, terminating the UWMC merger agreement, or entering into a definitive agreement with CCM or any other party,” said a Two Harbor press release (per National Mortgage News).
– Rocket Companies, which completed billion dollar acquisitions of Redfin and mortgage giant Mr. Cooper in 2025, is now looking to reduce its post-acquisition workforce—Rocket has begun offering voluntary buyouts to employees citing “overlapping responsibilities” and a need to increase efficiency.
– Congressman Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has dropped a lawsuit against Pulte, filed after the latter accused him of mortgage fraud and referred the case to the Department of Justice. Swalwell argued that Pulte violated his privacy to access his mortgage records and the allegations of fraud are false, meant to silence critics of the Trump administration. Pulte has accused other high profile government officials, such as Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, of mortgage fraud.
– Long Island-based US Mortgage is facing a lawsuit from former employee Richard Bernich over a 2025 data breach. Bernich argues the company failed to protect his personal information through negligence, which it denies. US Mortgage is not the first loan servicer to face a lawsuit after a data breach in recent years; Mr. Cooper is facing a class-action lawsuit after a 2023 data breach, while servicer Flagstar agreed to pay a $31.5 million settlement after a lawsuit over a 2021 data breach.
– Better Home & Finance Holding Company has announced that Hugh Frater, a founding partner of BlackRock and a former CEO of Fannie Mae, has joined its board of directors. “As we use AI to make the mortgage experience faster, easier and cheaper for Americans through Better’s AI-native Tinman Platform, Hugh’s experience will be critical at the board level in guiding our long-term strategy,” said Better Home & Finance CEO and Founder Vishal Garg in a statement.
– U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is calling for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to open an investigation into leading mortgage borrower credit score Fair Isaac Corp (FICO). FICO provides what has been historically only credit scores accepted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and Hawley argues in a letter sent to the FTC that this constitutes a monopoly. “Rather than competing on price, FICO has leveraged this market position to impose a pattern of extraordinary price increases (for credit score checks),” wrote Hawley. “They are especially damaging to first-time homebuyers, who often pay for multiple credit checks across several loan applications before successfully purchasing a home.”
– Rocket Companies is facing a federal lawsuit alleging the company sought to push a disabled employee to resign after failing to abide by federal law around accommodations and family leave. Ashley Isberg, an analyst who started with Rocket in 2016, claims she was granted the ability to work remotely after disclosing several chronic illnesses. Despite multiple promotions and recognitions, Isberg claims she was eventually pressured to return to work in-person or accept a severance package. Despite declining, Isberg alleges Rocket simply failed to acknowledge a renewed request for remote work in late 2025, and set a deadline for her to return to office. Isberg is seeking unspecified compensatory, punitive and other damages, including lost wages.
