30-Year Mortgage Rates Reach Highest Level Since May

For the fourth consecutive week, mortgage rates continued to climb as home buyers face higher borrowing costs.

Howard Hanna Acquires Allen Tate

The merged brokerages look to take on a bigger presence in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions.

Consumers Can Now Request Credit Freezes for Free

You and your real estate customers no longer have to pay a fee to block access to personal financial information in the event of a cybersecurity threat.

PromonTech integrates with GSF Mortgage

PromonTech, a 2018 HousingWire Tech100 winner, recently announced it has integrated its point-of-sale platform, Borrower Wallet, with GSF Mortgage to further improve customer experience. GSF Mortgage Corporation President Chad Jampedro stated the company’s mission is to deliver a safe, efficient and smooth transaction to for customers.

Wells Fargo expects to cut as many as 26,500 jobs in the next 3 years

It’s been a rough few years for Wells Fargo and the next few years won’t be much better, for as many as 26,500 of the bank’s employees. That’s because the bank announced Thursday that it expects to see a reduction in headcount of as much as 10% of the company’s workforce in the next three years. The company currently has approximately 265,000 employees, meaning as many as 26,500 could be out of a job by 2021. Click the headline to read more.

HousingJobs: Why the job market for loan officers is promising

Job hunting can be frustrating. At HousingWire, we want to make the process easier for job seekers in the industry. Our new service, HousingJobs, lists the latest gigs in the housing industry for loan officers, underwriters, processors, loan servicers, and tech and marketing pros. Check out this monthly blog for the latest job postings along with some industry insight.

Restarting motor city

Five years ago, Detroit, the principal city in the Detroit-Warren-Livonia, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, was declaring bankruptcy with debt estimates as high as $20 billion. This summer, those troubles seem comfortably in the rearview, according to the latest VeroFORECAST, which shows that real estate values in the nation’s 14th most populous MSA are predicted to increase at an average of 6.8% over the next 12 months.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase nabs top Fannie Mae exec Brian Brooks

Once rumored to be on the Trump administration’s shortlist to lead the CFPB, top Fannie Mae executive Brian Brooks is set to leave the federal government behind for the cryptocurrency industry. Brooks, who has served as Fannie Mae’s executive vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary for almost four years, is stepping down from that position Friday to become the chief legal officer of Coinbase, one of the world’s largest digital currency exchanges.

Maxwell launches new API to streamline loan applications

Tech 100 winner Maxwell just launched a new loan application and data enrichment API it has dubbed Maxwell ApplyID. According to Maxwell, the new tech enables clients to pre-populate loan application data and develop new customer intelligence capabilities with little to no hassle.

Average homeowner gained $16,000 in home equity in 1 year

As the economy strengthens, home values continue to appreciate, and that means homeowners are raking in the equity. A report released Thursday by CoreLogic showed that home equity rose 12.3% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2018, meaning that the average homeowner saw their equity increase by $16,153 in one year’s time.