We have a little over a week until the election, but things have been heating up for a while. In the intersection of politics, government institutions, and residential lending, there was another round of Freddie Mac layoffs last week, and we also had last week’s Executive Order hoping to eventually help affordability. Before that, Dan Gilbert and Rocket Mortgage found themselves in the press by donating $10 million through the Trust for the National Mall to The Donald J. Trump Ballroom… talk of the DOJ declining to investigate anti-trust charges due to acquiring two competitors (Redfin and Mr. Cooper) arose. Half of the readers will applaud Rocket and Dan, half won’t but wish they had that kind of money. Certainly, Dan and Rocket should be lauded for improving the Detroit area and sponsoring events. Speaking of things in the press, the alleged Baltimore mortgage fraud ring that drove hundreds of homes into foreclosure is back in the courts. Our industry has enough to deal with, what with the higher rates constricting business: On last week’s Capital Markets Wrap James Baublitz suggested that our industry is going through “acceptance” in terms of the five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance). (Today’s podcast can be found here. This week’s ‘casts are presented by FICO. As the industry’s most predictive credit score, FICO Score 10T combines proven performance with deeper insight into borrower behavior to help support a stronger and more resilient housing finance system. Today’s has an interview with Stellar Innovations’ Anish Thomas on combining deep industry expertise with AI-driven technology, human oversight, and secure, customizable workflows to help lenders accelerate loan closings, improve operational efficiency, and scale flexibly without compromising compliance or data security.)
Employment
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Loan officers and branch managers: As you look ahead to a new year, are you getting what you need from the company behind you? Is your company helping you accomplish more, or getting in your way? Family-owned since 1955, Gershman Mortgage gives producers the freedom to build their business, backed by experienced in-house operations, dedicated marketing support, and leaders who are accessible when it matters. After 29 years in the mortgage industry, Vice President, Branch Manager Tracy Hinton knows what a difference the right support can make. “Gershman Mortgage is hands down the best company I’ve worked for. The support on the loan officer side is unmatched, and that makes a real difference in day-to-day production. It allows you to grow your business with confidence.” As you consider what’s next, contact Adam Mason, President, for a confidential conversation. Equal Opportunity Employer.
“As we continue to see the rise of AI in almost all facets of our lives, the hiring landscape is also evolving. This recent article predicts that 1 in 4 candidates will be fake by 2028. So as an employer in need of (human) talent, how do you counteract this? At Pezian Search Group, our real-life team thoroughly screens our candidates to ensure that they fit our client’s needs, both from a skillset and soft-skill standpoint, while also not requiring them to connect with us at the early hours of the morning. We pride ourselves on our established network of candidates that is tens of thousands strong, including many who you won’t find on traditional job boards, while also offering a full satisfaction and fit guarantee. Connect with us on LinkedIn, reach out to our team at info@peziansearchgroup.com, and we’re happy to make that human-to-human connection with you.”
The Chrisman Job Board is the go-to platform for employment opportunities across the mortgage industry. For employers, adding a job listing is easy. Simply create an account and drop in your existing application link, or forward the details to our team and we’ll take care of it for you. For job seekers, joining our Talent Community is completely free. Upload your resume to be visible to hiring companies across the industry and stay connected to new opportunities as they go live.
Lender and brokers products, services, and software
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Manual document reviews, repeated data entry and time-consuming “stare and compare” tasks slow down back-office processes. ICE Aurora is an enterprise mortgage AI solution that helps lenders and servicers move from manual, fragmented steps to more connected, AI-supported workflows. This allows more time for the work that matters. AI-assisted capabilities span the loan lifecycle. They include compliance and investor guideline lookups, document classification, loan data validation, and AI voice and chat agents for borrowers. ICE Aurora embeds governance, auditability and human oversight into AI-supported workflows to support regulated business requirements and flag exceptions and inconsistencies for human review. See how ICE Aurora is helping teams work smarter through responsible, transparent AI.
There’s never been a simple way to measure friction in your mortgage process, until now. LenderLogix’s new Mortgage Friction Audit is a free, five-minute tool that pinpoints where borrowers get stuck and where your team loses time. Answer 20 practical questions across seven stages, from the first click to closing, and get a friction score plus a stage-by-stage breakdown of what to fix first. Take the audit here!
UAD 3.6 is here, and it brings a new level of complexity to underwriting the appraisal. The report is longer, with many more data points and dynamic sections, so underwriters will spend significantly more time learning the format, and finding what they need, with a higher risk of missing critical issues. Every lender and AMC also needs a new review policy to avoid investor suspenses and repurchases. To help lenders and AMCs prepare, HomeVision is offering a free trial for the next 60 days: run your first UAD 3.6 appraisal reviews through MIRA, HomeVision’s AI-powered underwriting platform, at no cost. No integration required. Upload a report and see a full review in minutes, with flagged issues and clear explanations. Each review applies the UAD 3.6 policy and security standards trusted by the largest lenders, banks, and AMCs in the industry. Start your trial here.
Big enhancements are here, and FlexIQ just got even more flexible! Onity Mortgage has expanded its FlexIQ Non-Agency guidelines, creating more opportunities for correspondent lenders to qualify borrowers and finance investment properties. Recent enhancements include DTI up to 55 percent for primary residences, a reduced minimum Business Bank Statement expense ratio of just 10 percent, and expanded DSCR eligibility allowing refinances on vacant investment properties. Condotels are now permitted in both Delegated and Non-Delegated channels, and all investment transactions that meet requirements can now be considered business purpose, including FlexIQ Full Doc, Alt Doc, and DSCR. These updates are designed to give lenders greater flexibility, expand qualifying possibilities, and create new opportunities for scenarios that may not have worked before. Have a loan that didn’t qualify previously? It’s time to take another look! Discover how FlexIQ can help you grow your non-Agency business at correspondent.onitymortgage.com. More flexibility. More possibilities. We’re on it.
“Take 15 minutes out of your lunch break to see a simpler way to calculate borrower income. Between pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, and spreadsheets, determining qualifying income can take more time than it should. Join us Thursday, October 29, at 12:00 PM ET for 15 Minutes with AiCR, a quick live demonstration of our new Income Calculator. See how AiCR brings income documents, data extraction, and calculations together in one workflow. No lengthy presentation, just 15 minutes focused on how it works. Register here to save your spot.”
Home equity product news
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Dark Matter is putting a stopwatch on home equity, and the results are worth a look: lenders on Empower are closing home equity loans in as few as five days, which is faster than most of us dig out of our inboxes after a conference. With homeowners holding onto their low first-lien rates, home equity is where the action is, and speed is what wins it. Sal Piccola, SVP of Product Strategy, puts it simply: “Five-day Home Equity closings aren’t a future-state vision. They’re happening today, powered by the technology and automation driving our platform.” Translation: the friction lenders have quietly accepted for years is now optional. If your home equity pipeline still moves at the speed of paperwork, it’s worth seeing what five days looks like. Learn more at dmatter.com.
“eLEND: Speed Matters. Win More Loans with eXPRESS HELOC! Preliminary approval in as little as 5 minutes and funding in as few as 5 days.* At eLEND, we built our eXPRESS HELOC to move at the speed of your business. Borrowers can tap into their home equity without refinancing their existing first mortgage, all through a fully online application.* With fixed-rate options and the ability to redraw available funds, eligible borrowers get added flexibility, and you get another way to serve them. During volatile markets, your past clients are one of your best sources of new business. Whether they’re planning a renovation, consolidating high-interest debt or simply want extra cash on hand, eXPRESS HELOC helps you say “yes,” fast. Faster approvals. Fewer hurdles. More loans in your pipeline with eLEND. *Subject to qualification and program guidelines. Visit elendtpo.com, call 1-800-375-6071, or email sales@elend.com (NMLS 2826) Want in on this action? Partner today.”
Cut yourself a slice of a growing market. More than 4 million Americans will turn 55 this year (over 11,200 per day) creating a steady flow of homeowners aging into reverse mortgage eligibility. This demographic shift is creating a steady pipeline of potential borrowers with evolving financial needs in retirement. Finance of America partnered with HousingWire on a white paper that explores how adapting your lending strategy can help you stay relevant as more borrowers age. Download FOA’s White Paper today to see how serving this growing segment could create durable production opportunities. Finance of America, NMLS 2285.
Home equity demand is surging, and the lenders who verify fastest are the ones winning that volume. Truework, a Checkr company, automates income, employment, and asset verification across every source in one platform, so you can verify 97 percent of U.S. workers faster and more accurately, at up to 50 percent lower cost. Don’t let manual verification processes cost your borrowers while they wait. Learn more.
Capital markets: slow housing market/slow economy help rates?
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U.S. Treasury markets face competing pressures as early signs of credit stress in technology and AI-related companies drive safe-haven demand, while persistent geopolitical tensions and elevated oil prices raise inflation risks and could push yields higher. The yield curve has flattened sharply, with the 2s/10s spread falling from 54-basis points on October 8 to around 30-basis points, as expectations for further Fed rate hikes keep 2-year yields near 4.80 percent. Meanwhile, MBS have lagged Treasuries on a spread basis, limiting mortgage-rate relief. With private investors holding roughly 70 percent of U.S. debt and hedge funds accounting for nearly 10 percent of Treasury ownership, markets may be increasingly sensitive to shifts in risk appetite and selling pressure, leaving rates vulnerable to renewed volatility amid stagflationary concerns, fragile credit conditions, and uncertainty over the Fed’s next move(s).
Agency MBS and debt issued by the U.S. Government pulled back, pricewise, Friday as oil prices climbed and concerns over AI-related market risks and a potential French sovereign credit downgrade kept investors cautious, intensifying inflation fears and uncertainty over central bank policy. However, the selloff was not enough to prevent a third consecutive weekly gain for Treasury prices following Thursday’s rally.
What to tell your borrowers? Persistent inflation, AI companies issuing debt, increasingly hawkish global central banks, expanding fiscal deficits, and rising government bond yields threaten to push long-term rates higher, while concerns over technology valuations and AI capital spending periodically trigger safe-haven demand. Last week’s rally appeared driven more by short covering, futures positioning, and safe-haven demand than by a fundamental improvement in inflation or deterioration of economic conditions. For mortgage lenders and pipeline hedgers, falling rates offer borrowers some relief but increase the risk of lock renegotiations, fallout, and hedge losses, particularly because mortgage rates have not declined as much as benchmark Treasury yields might suggest.
Meanwhile, the housing market continues to deteriorate, with pending home sales plunging 7.3 percent in September, housing starts falling 5.2 percent, builder confidence reaching its lowest level since 2012, and mortgage applications declining as affordability remains strained. President Trump’s new executive order seeks to reduce housing costs by making the GSE title-waiver program permanent and directing FHFA to consider additional refinancing relief, including appraisal and income-verification waivers, potential loan-level price adjustment reductions, and proactive mortgage insurance cancellation pilots. Although these measures could eventually lower refinancing costs, their discretionary nature and uncertain implementation timelines introduce additional prepayment and negative-convexity risk for mortgage-backed securities investors.
Despite elevated mortgage rates making traditional refinancing unattractive for most homeowners, cash-out refinances should continue to see volume as financially pressured borrowers tap into record-high home equity to meet expenses. U.S. homeowners hold approximately $36 trillion in equity ($12 trillion of which is tappable), and although refinance-sourced mortgage issuance has recently declined, cash-out loans accounted for 57 percent of refinance issuance in September. With projected 2027 net issuance of $200–$225 billion, cash-out refinancing is expected to remain a meaningful contributor.
For Agency MBS investors, this creates potential prepayment risk even in discount pools, as borrowers facing financial pressure may refinance despite unfavorable rates. Identifying pools with elevated cash-out propensity involves focusing on loans at least 12 months old, current loan-to-value ratios comfortably below 80 percent, and lower borrower FICO scores. Lower-FICO, lower-LTV borrowers are more likely to execute cash-out refinances and may prepay faster than comparable borrowers who do not extract equity. Remember that prepayment behavior is driven not only by interest-rate incentives but also by borrowers’ liquidity needs, making borrower characteristics and financial pressure important factors when assessing prepayment speeds and MBS valuation.
In terms of economic news, after last week closed with U.S. consumer sentiment deteriorating further due to persistent inflation, weak hiring, and elevated mortgage rates continuing to strain household finances and reduce purchasing power, this week is jam-packed with noteworthy economic data, including the release of advance Q3 GDP, Durable Goods Orders, Consumer Confidence, New Home Sales, PCE Price Index, Personal Income and Spending, and the Employment Cost Index. Additionally, there are three note auctions (including a $69 billion 2-year Treasury note auction today) and the market will receive an updated FOMC Statement on Wednesday, though a rate hike is not widely expected. Markets currently price in roughly a 90 percent probability of a 25-basis point Fed rate hike in December, but weakening consumer momentum, labor-market softness, deteriorating housing conditions, and financial-market stress could alter that outlook.
Chicago Fed National Activity Index for September, and the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index for October are both due out later this morning. We begin the week with Agency MBS prices little changed from Friday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.70, and the 10-year yielding 4.99 after closing Friday at 4.99 percent, down 11-basis points over the course of last week.
A Chinese spy goes undercover in America and tries to infiltrate the political ranks.
To get into the right career path, he has to pass an oral exam.
Examiner: When did the USA gain independence?
Spy: July 4, 1776.
Good. How many continents are there?
Easy peasy, seven.
Damn, you’re good. Which continent is Turkey in?
Technically, Turkey is in two continents; Asia and Europe, since some parts of…
(Examiner cuts him off.) Woah, you know your geography. Let’s do some history now. Who first discovered America?
Spy: Most people think Christopher Colombus did, but actually Leif Erikson first discovered the lands of our blessed country, America.
Who was the first President of the United States?
Peyton Randolph. George Washington was the country’s first “elected” president. But he was by no means the country’s first president.
At this point, the examiner realized this guy was a spy, because an actual American doesn’t know jack.
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qoɹ & ǝᴉqqoɹ
(Market data provided in partnership with MBS Live. For free job postings and to view candidate resumes, visit the Chrisman Job Board. This newsletter is intended for sophisticated mortgage professionals only. There are no paid endorsements by me. For the latest mortgage news, visit Mortgage News Daily. For archived commentaries, or to subscribe, go to www.ChrismanCommentary.com. Copyright 2026 Chrisman LLC. All rights reserved. Paid job & product listings do appear. This report or any portion hereof may not be reprinted, sold, or redistributed without the written consent of Rob Chrisman. The views and opinions in this newsletter are mine alone unless otherwise specifically stated herein.)
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