Industry Briefs Sept. 4, 2020
CoreLogic: Hurricane Laura Insured Losses Estimated at $8-$12 Billion
CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., issued a new data analysis estimating insured wind and storm surge losses for residential and commercial properties in Louisiana and Texas at between $8 billion and $12 billion, with insured storm surge losses estimated to contribute less than $0.5 billion to this total.
The report said overall home mortgage delinquency rates (30 or more days past due, including those in foreclosure) in the Beaumont, Texas (9.3%) and Lake Charles, La. (9.5%) metropolitan areas were already above the national rate (7.3%) based on the May CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights report. CoreLogic data has shown natural disasters cause a spike in mortgage delinquencies, which suggests Hurricane Laura will add to the economic hardship families are already experiencing during the pandemic.
ClosingCorp: 28,000 Pending Loan Transactions in Jeopardy from Laura
ClosingCorp, San Diego, estimated more than 28,000 pending mortgage transactions currently in progress in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi are in jeopardy, as a result of Hurricane Laura. The loans, which are being originated by more than 180 different lenders, have a combined value of more than $6.8 billion.
ClosingCorp based its estimate on “in-flight” mortgage applications in 83 counties and parishes that are due to close between now and the end of November. Texas is the state with the most mortgage transactions at risk ($4.1 billion), followed by Louisiana ($2.5 billion) and Mississippi ($171 million).
Counties in each state with the most exposure are Harris County, Texas, which includes Houston and part of Galveston, with 9,000 mortgages valued at $2.3 billion; Orleans Parrish, La., which includes New Orleans, with 1,367 transactions valued at $391 million; and Harrison County Miss., which includes Biloxi, with 308 mortgages valued at $63 million.
STRATMOR Identifies Effective Leadership During Times of Crisis
Leaders need to be clear and consistent in their messaging to gain trust during a crisis, according to the STRATMOR Group, Greenwood Village, Colo., which detailed how one mortgage company is getting it right during the coronavirus pandemic.
In her article, “Effective Leadership through Crisis Times: A Lender’s Story” in the company’s latest monthly Insights Report, STRATMOR CEO Lisa Springer examines the leadership style of several countries’ leaders during the pandemic before looking at how Guild Mortgage is successfully managing business in the midst of COVID-19. According to Springer, effective world leaders in countries such as New Zealand and Norway took early, decisive action and used data to guide their decisions through the pandemic. These steps were mirrored by the steps adopted by successful lenders in the mortgage industry. The approach taken by Guild Mortgage CEO Mary Ann McGarry is a prime example of good leadership in a crisis, Springer said.
In a second article in the August report, MortgageSAT Director Mike Seminari says that as digital lending accelerates, lenders should ask themselves what the changes mean for the customer experience. In his article, “E-Closings and the Borrower Experience” he notes, “Digital path-carvers have been able to focus on – and automate where possible – the touch points that matter most in the borrower journey as the closing approaches.” For example, it has traditionally been very important to borrowers that their loan officer attend closings in person. Today, STRATMOR is seeing a new trend where originators are getting on FaceTime – or at the very least, a phone call – to attend closings.
Click here for the latest edition of STRATMOR’s Insights Report.
WEST Launches Cybersecurity Service
WEST, Irvine, Calif., launched a new cybersecurity service for real estate agents, lenders, title agents and other settlement service providers to protect them against email fraud and provide real-time updates regarding potential risks.
WESTprotect.com offers free sign-up for fraud alert warnings and access to an extensive library of in-depth articles and reports, the 411 blog, as well as “WESTprotect 411,” the company’s email-analysis subscription service that analyzes suspicious emails and reports back within one hour. WESTprotect subscribers will also have access to cybersecurity training and phishing simulators that are customized for each real estate, mortgage or title company.
Manor Financial Partners with Xome
Manor Financial, Herndon, Va., announced its partnership with Xome Holdings LLC, a provider of real estate services, to develop Inspex by Xome, a do-it-yourself home inspection and valuation process mobile application, enabling lenders to provide borrowers with a simple, contactless option that reduces wait times on appraisals and other valuation products by as much as 50 percent.
Inspex is part of a patent-pending process that engages Xome’s entire valuation system for use in home equity lending and servicing across the mortgage industry.
CFPB Report: ‘No Significant Impact’ from Coronavirus on Consumer Credit
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report examining the early effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on consumer credit, finding consumers have not experienced significant increases in delinquency or other negative credit outcomes as reported in credit record data following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
The report said this finding is in spite of the sharp increases in unemployment resulting from the pandemic. The report focused on mortgage, student and auto loans and credit card accounts from March to June, and notes that outcomes may reflect payment assistance provided to American consumers through the CARES Act.
The report also found that financial institutions reduced access to credit card debt both by closing existing lines of credit and by halting credit limit increases on open accounts. However, these effects were small in magnitude. Both account closings and credit line reductions primarily affected borrowers with high credit scores, and many of the account closings were on cards that were closed for inactivity.
The report can be accessed at https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_early-effects-covid-19-consumer-credit_issue-brief.pdf.
Clarifire Integrates CoreLogic Credit Reports into Workflow Automation Software
Clarifire, St. Petersburg, Fla., a workflow automation provider, announced it completed an integration to include credit reports and scores from CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., a property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider. The integration will help users streamline their servicing workflows, including their loss mitigation workouts.
The integration enables Clarifire’s intuitive workflow software, CLARIFIRE, which standardizes and simplifies complex business processes, to deliver CoreLogic Credco credit reports and credit scoring solutions. As a result, mortgage servicers using CLARIFIRE will be able to provide borrowers with their loss mitigation options in minutes, while simultaneously improving compliance, lowering costs and creating a better experience for the borrower.
FHFA Announces Public Listening Sessions on Re-Proposed Capital Rule
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said to allow interested parties to elaborate on their public comment letters on the re-proposed capital rule for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , it will host two listening sessions on September 10 and September 14. These listening sessions are opportunities for interested parties to elaborate on specific subjects and do not substitute for formal comment letters.
The first listening session will focus on credit risk transfers; the second listening session will focus on affordable housing access.
CFPB Issues Analysis of HMDA Data Points
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act analysis of 2019 HMDA Data. This data article is the second in a series and follows the first article published in June of this year.
Findings in this year’s data points article include:
• The top 25 open-end lenders accounted for 573,000 open-end originations, or 53.6 percent of all open-end originations reported under HMDA.
• Conventional jumbo loans have the highest mean and median credit scores among closed-end mortgages, with a mean score of 765 and a median of 773. FHA borrowers have the lowest mean and median scores among closed-end mortgages, with a mean score of 668 and a median of 663.
• Among Black and Hispanic White homebuyers seeking conventional conforming loans, the median combined loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios are higher than their Asian and non-Hispanic White counterparts.
To read the second HMDA data point article, click https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_data-points_updated-review-hmda_report.pdf.
ATTOM Identifies ‘Best Candidate’ Neighborhoods for Opportunity Zone Investment
ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif., teamed up with CityBldr, a Seattle-based proptech company that uses AI to determine best use of land, to discover that a widespread group of mostly impoverished, densely-packed urban neighborhoods as most attractive opportunities in the nation for housing developers to take advantage of federal reinvestment tax benefits.
CityBldr data spotlights 11 neighborhoods in seven states and the District of Columbia with some of the best potential for using Opportunity Zone tax benefits designed to spur revival in low-income communities across the United States. The zones were established by Congress under the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act.
Along with Anacostia, Washington, D.C.; South Shore, Chicago; and City Heights, San Diego; other neighborhoods identified include Mid-City in central Los Angeles; Parramore in west-central Orlando, Fla.; Central District in eastern Seattle; West Colfax in western Denver; Spartan Keyes in eastern San Jose, Calif.; North End/New Center in northern Detroit; Buckman/Kerns in southeastern Portland, Ore.; and Hilltop in central Tacoma, Wash.
The areas were identified by CityBldr as among those where both communities and housing developers have the most to gain from Opportunity Zone tax benefits, based on machine learning technology from various data sources and a detailed understanding of the various markets.
Dwight Capital Acquires Love Funding
Dwight Capital LLC, New York, acquired Love Funding, the HUD lending subsidiary of Midland States Bank.
The acquisition made Dwight the largest dedicated FHA/HUD Multifamily and Healthcare financing firm in the nation.
Midland States Bank will retain the existing Love Funding servicing portfolio. The Love Funding Platform will be integrated within Dwight Capital.
Led by Co-CEOs Adam Sasouness and Josh Sasouness, Dwight Capital’s services include commercial lending across a variety of platforms such as FHA/HUD, bridge and mezzanine financing as well as preferred equity for both stabilized and new-construction properties. The firm has been a top-five multifamily HUD lender over the past five years by both transactions and dollar amount.
Colliers International Expands to Nashville, Tenn.
Colliers International Group announced acquisition of Colliers International Nashville LLC, which was previously an affiliate operation. The current shareholders of Colliers Nashville will retain equity in the business under Colliers’ unique partnership model.
With a history dating to 1938, Colliers Nashville has 70 professionals that provide landlord agency, tenant representation, investment sales brokerage, property management and project management services to investors, developers and occupiers of commercial real estate.
