Tag Archives: mortgage secondary marketing technology

Average Homebuyer Credit Score Hits the Highest Mark in Years

PLANO, Texas /ScoopCloud/ -- Today, Optimal Blue released its March 2024 Originations Market Monitor report, which reveals the average homebuyer credit score has reached 737 - an all-time high since the company began tracking this data in January 2018. Despite the potential buyer pool being somewhat limited to borrowers with higher credit, rate lock volume showed steady month-over-month growth of 17% in March as the spring buying season got underway.

Key findings from the March 2024 Originations Market Monitor report, which reflects month-over-month changes in mortgage lock data, include:

* Unprecedented credit scores: March recorded the highest average borrower credit score for purchase loans at 737 since tracking commenced in January 2018. Similarly, in February and March 2024, FHA borrower credit scores reached six-year highs of 677 and 676, respectively. VA borrower credit scores reached their peak since February 2021, and conforming loan borrower credit scores achieved their highest mark since January 2021.

* Spring rate lock activity surge: March saw a notable 17% increase in rate lock volume, driven by a 17% rise in purchase locks. While refinances comprised a small share of lock volume, rate/term activity rose 19% and cash-out activity rose 11%, aided by an improving rate environment.

* Interest rates tick down: The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year benchmark rate decreased by 15 bps to 6.74%, signaling an improving rate environment conducive to both purchase and refinance transactions. The OBMMI jumbo index saw the largest rally, dropping 27 bps to 7.07%.

* Year-over-year comparison: Despite strong month-over-month gains, March purchase lock counts were down 24% from the same period in 2023. This year-over-year decline is likely due to the Easter holiday weekend falling in March this year and April last year. April and May figures will be a better indicator of whether the market is turning a corner.

* Market share adjustments: FHA lending saw its fourth straight month-over-month decline in market share, falling 0.72% to capture a 19% share of total lock volume. FHA volume had seen relatively consistent growth from 2021-2023, with market share growing from 9% to a peak of 23% in November 2023 before the recent stretch of declines.

* Loan amounts and prices increase: The average loan amount rose by $8,000 to $367.3K, and the average home purchase price increased $9,700 to $463.8K.

"Driven by rising interest rates and home prices, we're witnessing the highest average homebuyer credit scores in years," said Brennan O'Connell, director of data solutions at Optimal Blue. "This unprecedented level of creditworthiness among purchasers is largely a result of the affordability issues borrowers face in today's housing market, with prospective buyers with lower credit scores waiting on the sidelines until conditions improve. However, it is encouraging to see a strong pool of qualified buyers still actively pursuing homeownership. This trend underscores the resilience of the market and the adaptability of consumers in navigating the current economic landscape."

The full March 2024 Originations Market Monitor report provides further detail on these findings and more insights into U.S. mortgage market trends: https://www2.optimalblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/OB_OMM_MAR2024_Report.pdf

About the OMM Report:

Each month, Optimal Blue issues the Originations Market Monitor report, which provides early insight into U.S. mortgage trends. Leveraging lender rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE - the mortgage industry's most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine - the Originations Market Monitor provides a view of early-stage origination activity.

Nothing herein shall be construed as, nor is Optimal Blue providing, any legal, trading, hedging, or financial advice.

About Optimal Blue:

Optimal Blue is a market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company's premier products are used by 68% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S.

For more information on Optimal Blue's end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit http://OptimalBlue.com/.

Today, Optimal Blue released its March 2024 Originations Market Monitor report, which reveals the average homebuyer credit score has reached 737 - an all-time high since the company began tracking this data in January 2018. Despite the potential buyer pool being somewhat limited to borrowers with higher credit, rate lock volume showed steady month-over-month growth of 17% in March as the spring buying season got underway.

Related link: https://www2.optimalblue.com/

Mortgage Industry Veteran Sara Holtz Joins Optimal Blue as Chief Marketing Officer

PLANO, Texas /ScoopCloud/ -- Optimal Blue announced today that it has appointed Sara Holtz as chief marketing officer. As a seasoned marketing and communications leader, Holtz brings more than 20 years of career experience, including a decade of driving change in the mortgage industry. As chief marketing officer, Holtz will drive unified marketing and communications strategies to advance Optimal Blue's business priorities and further extend the company's influence.

"As the only comprehensive capital markets solution in the mortgage industry, Optimal Blue helps lenders realize greater profitability and operational efficiency, which plays an essential role in making the dream of homeownership attainable for the American borrower," said Holtz. "It's an honor to join Optimal Blue - a company that's been regarded for its innovation and expertise for decades. I am energized by the opportunity to build on the company's momentum to drive meaningful transformation for Optimal Blue's valued clients and the borrowers they serve."

Holtz joins Optimal Blue from ICE Mortgage Technology, where she most recently served as vice president of demand marketing and communications. In this role, she led a dynamic team focused on generating sales opportunities and engaging industry audiences. Holtz joined ICE with the company's acquisition of Ellie Mae in 2020. During her tenure at Ellie Mae, Holtz helped advance the company's corporate communications strategies, including both internal and external brand narratives.

"Sara is a highly respected professional and her unique blend of experience makes her the perfect addition to Optimal Blue's senior leadership team," says Scott Smith, interim CEO of Optimal Blue. "She has a track record of proven leadership, and she will play an integral role as we continue to expand our position as the leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology."

Holtz was honored as a HousingWire Marketing Leader in 2023, a prestigious award that celebrates the most creative and influential minds of the housing economy.

About Optimal Blue:

Optimal Blue is a market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company's premier products are used by 68% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S.

For more information on Optimal Blue's end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit OptimalBlue.com.

Optimal Blue announced today that it has appointed Sara Holtz as chief marketing officer. As a seasoned marketing and communications leader, Holtz brings more than 20 years of career experience, including a decade of driving change in the mortgage industry. As chief marketing officer, Holtz will drive unified marketing and communications strategies to advance Optimal Blue's business priorities and further extend the company's influence.

Related link: https://www2.optimalblue.com/

Optimal Blue Clinches 2024 HousingWire Tech100 Mortgage Award

PLANO, Texas /ScoopCloud/ -- Today, Optimal Blue announced its selection by HousingWire as a Tech100 Mortgage award winner. Now in its 12th year, HousingWire's Tech100 award program spotlights the most innovative and impactful tech organizations in housing.

"We are honored to be recognized by HousingWire for our end-to-end capital markets platform, which connects hundreds of thousands of individual lenders, investors, brokers and vendors across the primary and secondary mortgage markets," said Scott Smith, interim CEO at Optimal Blue. "Optimal Blue is continually investing in product innovation that enables our customers to operate more nimbly, efficiently and profitably, while at the same time growing our bench of experienced industry advisors and services staff."

Optimal Blue is an undisputed leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology, facilitating more than $1.1 trillion in mortgage locking and trading transactions annually. Its technology and data solutions are relied on by thousands of lenders and brokers, and hundreds of investors, as well as government agencies, think tanks, and others. The company's solutions are used by 68% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S.

Optimal Blue continues to invest in its market-leading position with a focus on enhanced user experience, cloud-first and cloud-native technology, world-class mobile solutions, and premier workflow, rules, and compliance technology.

"The technology capabilities and solutions that this year's Tech100 winning organizations have developed are an absolute testament to the relentless innovation within the real estate and mortgage technology landscape," HW Media Editor-in-Chief Sarah Wheeler said. "These past few years have been transformative for the industry and these honorees are continuing to bring long-awaited solutions to the challenges that mortgage and real estate professionals have struggled with for decades. Congratulations to all the deserving winners for their outstanding contributions to our ever-evolving industry."

About Optimal Blue:

Optimal Blue is a market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company's premier products are used by 68% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S.

For more information on Optimal Blue's end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit http://www.optimalblue.com/.

Today, Optimal Blue announced its selection by HousingWire as a Tech100 Mortgage award winner. Now in its 12th year, HousingWire's Tech100 award program spotlights the most innovative and impactful tech organizations in housing.

Related link: https://www2.optimalblue.com/

Optimal Blue PPE Now Available in Native Mobile App for Android and iOS, Gives Loan Officers ‘Pricing in Their Pocket’ With Full Product and Search Capabilities

PLANO, Texas /ScoopCloud/ -- Today, Optimal Blue announced releases related to its publicly listed, native mobile app for the Optimal Blue PPE - the industry's most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine. The releases consist of a new mobile app for Android, as well as enhancements to the company's mobile offering for iOS.

"Loan officers no longer sit at their desks all day, so Optimal Blue made it a priority to put 'pricing in their pocket' with full product and search capabilities from the convenience of a mobile device," said Kevin Foley, director of product management, Optimal Blue. "With just a few taps, a loan officer can identify the best product, rate, and price for their borrower without the constraint of being in an office. This helps them operate more efficiently and competitively, while also delivering a better experience to prospective homebuyers. Plus, it's a truly native mobile app experience, built specifically for the mobile devices loan officers are using."

By giving loan officers the flexibility to access scenario pricing from any location, the Optimal Blue PPE (OB) Mobile app assists with timely and productive borrower conversations. OB Mobile allows users to price scenarios and save favorites to a dashboard for quick access. With a single tap, these scenarios can then be refreshed to show the best product, rate, and price, as well as any interest rate movement on a given day. The app displays the full array of pricing inputs and granularity currently available on the web version of the Optimal Blue PPE, including custom fields. All eligible products and rates are presented, including any adjustments, notes, and advisories. Ineligible products are also displayed, along with a reason for ineligibility.

In addition to an all-new app for Android, the app for iOS now includes pricing analysis from the Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI). Calculated from actual locked rates with consumers across approximately 42% of all mortgage transactions nationwide, the OBMMI includes multiple mortgage pricing indices developed around the most popular mortgage products and specific borrower attributes. The inclusion of this market data adds new value to a broader range of users. Any loan officer or person - regardless of whether they are an Optimal Blue client - can access OBMMI pricing analysis via the app, with PPE functionality reserved for client login.

"As the public continues paying close attention to rate movement in 2024, we're pleased to make our interactive OBMMI pricing analysis available in a native iOS app anyone can download," Foley added. "OBMMI access will be added to the Android app later this year."

OB Mobile is publicly listed for both Android and iOS and available for download today.

About Optimal Blue:

Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company's premier product, pricing and eligibility engine - the Optimal Blue PPE - is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S.

For more information on Optimal Blue's end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit https://www2.optimalblue.com/.

X/Twitter: @OptimalBlue #Mortgage #HousingFinance #MBS #SecondaryMarkets

Today, Optimal Blue announced releases related to its publicly listed, native mobile app for the Optimal Blue PPE - the industry's most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine. The releases consist of a new mobile app for Android, as well as enhancements to the company's mobile offering for iOS.

Related link: https://www2.optimalblue.com/

Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor: December Brought Significant Growth in Rate/Term Refinance Volume as Falling Rates Created Favorable Tailwinds

PLANO, Texas /ScoopCloud/ -- Today, Optimal Blue announced the release of its Originations Market Monitor report, looking at mortgage origination data through December month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE - the industry's most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine - the Originations Market Monitor provides a comprehensive and timely view into origination activity.

"Mortgage rates continued to fall in December, with the Fed delivering welcomed commentary suggesting rates may have peaked with cuts on the horizon in 2024," said Brennan O'Connell, data solutions manager, Optimal Blue. "The sharp drop in rates provided tailwinds that caused rate/term refinance volume to rise a notable 43% month over month. Despite cash-out volume declining 9%, the total refinance share of locks rose to 19% in December - the highest level since April 2022. However, the improving rate environment had little impact on purchase lending, where lock volume fell 23% in December, traditionally the slowest month for homebuyer activity."

The growth in rate/term volume was largely driven by a material uptick in VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loans (IRRRLs). IRRRL volume hit its highest level since January 2022, and the total refinance share of VA volume rose to nearly 30%. As a result, VA volume saw the highest market share gain in December, rising 137 bps to finish the month at 11.8% of total volume. FHA refinance volume also ticked up in December, despite FHA total volume dropping 105 bps of market share to 21.5% of total volume. The GSE-eligible share rose 36 bps to 56.6% and nonconforming volume - inclusive of jumbo and non-QM - dropped 72 bps to 9.4%. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of locks continued to fall, dropping to 5.2% of total volume, indicating further fading of consumer interest in the product.

The Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year conforming rate dropped 54 bps to finish the month at 6.57%. The OBMMI for jumbo, FHA, and VA loans fell 74 bps, 49 bps, and 67 bps, respectively.

"The spread between the 30-year conforming rate and the 10-year Treasury yield remained essentially flat in December as government bonds and mortgages benefitted equally from the positive fixed-income outlook," O'Connell continued. "Looking ahead to 2024, the mortgage-to-Treasury spread remains elevated from historic norms at roughly 275 bps, suggesting there may be further room for compression and reduction in mortgage rates."

The rise in rate/term refinance volume coincided with a drop of 8 points in the average credit score as borrowers with lower credit scores jumped on the opportunity to lower their monthly payments with VA and FHA refinances. Purchase and cash-out refinance credit scores ticked higher, however. The average loan amount rose to $349.5K from $347.4K, while the average purchase price saw another - albeit smaller - decline, falling from $438.3K to $435.9K.

Each month's Originations Market Monitor provides high-level origination metrics for the U.S. and the top 20 MSAs by share of total origination volume. View the Optimal Blue Originations Market Monitor report for more detail on December activity.

Nothing herein shall be construed as, nor is Optimal Blue providing, any legal, trading, hedging, or financial advice.

About Optimal Blue

Optimal Blue is the market leader in mortgage secondary marketing technology. The company facilitates transactions among mortgage market participants through its Marketplace Platform, actionable data, and technology vendor connections. The platform supports a range of functions for originators and investors to automate and optimize core processes related to product, pricing, and eligibility, hedge analytics, MSR valuation, loan trading, social media compliance, and counterparty oversight. The company's premier product, pricing and eligibility engine - the Optimal Blue PPE - is used by 64% of the top 500 mortgage lenders in the U.S.

For more information on Optimal Blue's end-to-end secondary marketing automation, visit http://OptimalBlue.com/.

RELATED LINKS:

https://www2.optimalblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/OB_OMM_DEC2023_Report.pdf

Today, Optimal Blue announced the release of its Originations Market Monitor report, looking at mortgage origination data through December month-end. Leveraging daily rate lock data from the Optimal Blue PPE - the industry's most widely used product, pricing, and eligibility engine - the Originations Market Monitor provides a comprehensive and timely view into origination activity.

Related link: https://www2.optimalblue.com/