“I decided to play golf with my friend. On the third hole he said, ‘Let’s make this interesting.’ So we stopped playing golf.” Every week I receive a half a dozen invitations to mortgage golf events, usually centered around a conference. How about coming up with something where you can see and talk to more than three other people for 3-4 hours? Group hikes? Make-a-bear? Mini-golf? Bowling? Croquet? Pretzel making? Perhaps we’ll see companies and state organizations shift their fund raising away from golf outings toward pickleball and bocce ball. Along those lines, I wonder if the mood of the recent mortgage conventions has mirrored that of the Elevator Operator’s Convention in 1966? I’d say no: the temperament has been constructive, pragmatic, and people are anxious to learn, unlike elevator operators who thought their jobs would always be there. It has been nice to see as we enter the traditional lull in conference activity. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Experian. From lenders and landlords to employers and consumers, Experian helps connect the housing ecosystem with the data and insights needed to make faster, confident decisions. Lead a smarter housing journey with Experian. Today’s has an interview with Experian’s Likhitha Mahendar Singh how the modern first-time homebuyer has evolved, why rental payment data is reshaping how lenders identify mortgage-ready borrowers, and how a data-driven approach can help better target, underwrite, and serve the next generation of homeowners.)
Employment and transitions
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As America approaches its 250th anniversary, PRMG is celebrating 25 years in mortgage banking with a people-first mission rooted in service, gratitude, and homeownership. Through its nonprofit partner, Operation T.A.G., PRMG’s Hometown Hero Credit Program helps eligible veterans, active-duty service members and Gold Star surviving spouses receive a 2 percent credit, up to $21,000, to reduce closing costs, buy down rates, cover allowable fees, or help qualify. PRMG is proud to support Operation T.A.G., which has helped return more than $1 million directly to military families nationwide since its inception. “At PRMG, honoring service means helping military families move closer to homeownership,” said Paul Rozo, founder and CEO. “This initiative reflects who we are as a company and as Americans.” Contact: Paul Lucido, chief culture and brand communication officer.
loanDepot is a destination for high-performing originators like Justin Brilman, who recently joined as Producing Branch Manager in the San Francisco Bay Area. A top 1 percent producer nationally, he brings more than $2.5 billion in funded volume and 25 years of experience navigating some of the industry’s most demanding transactions. Brilman has built a reputation for guiding sophisticated borrowers through jumbo, construction, and highly nuanced financing scenarios, including high-net-worth, self-employed, and asset-driven clients. His approach centers on delivering a seamless path from application to close. His roots in the business run deep, having grown up around escrow and title operations before expanding his expertise during the housing downturn with foreclosure intervention work. Today, he collaborates with leading real estate professionals, wealth advisors, CPAs, and builders across the Bay Area. Sales leaders interested in exploring opportunities with loanDepot are encouraged to contact Shane Stanton.
Ready to make your next move? Zillow Home Loans is hiring Mortgage Loan Officers across the country. Do your best work with tools built for modern lending. At Zillow Home Loans, loan officers are backed by Zillow’s industry-leading technology and the most-visited real estate platform in the U.S. They provide leads from buyers who are already shopping for homes in their ecosystem and are ready to move. In this role, you’ll guide buyers with care and confidence, helping them move from pre-approval through closing with support from centralized processing, underwriting, and closing teams. Join a company that’s reshaping an industry and helping more people make home a reality. Zillow was named a FORTUNE 100 Best Company to Work For® in 2025. Now hiring remotely in select locations. See open roles here.
Dovenmuehle Mortgage, Inc. announced today that Ann Morey has been named Head of Product and will lead DMI’s product management function, which includes establishing strategic product vision, driving outcome-oriented roadmaps that address stakeholder expectations, increasing internal cross-functional alignment and building agile, high-performing teams.
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.
Broker and lender software, products, and services
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Everyone in lending is waiting for one thing: the Fed to cut rates and the refi boom to follow. Stop waiting. Alongside its industry-leading Energy-Smart DPA Program, Arcasa introduces its new Refinance Prospecting tool: bulk-upload the clients you locked into the high 6s and 7s and instantly see who can lower their rate today, without waiting on the Fed. Prospects come sorted by impact, ready to convert with one click. Structured as a standard FHA rate-and-term or simple refinance, the Energy-Smart assistance does the heavy lifting: covering closing costs, cutting utility bills via solar, and funding rate buydowns. Because those funds can go toward the buydown, even mid-6s borrowers are in play. No second payments, no income caps, and it can help retire bonds from other assistance programs. The opportunity isn’t coming; it’s already in your database. Sign up for a live demo or log in and start today.
“Bayview’s Silver Hill Capital is excited to announce the launch of our new Medical Professionals (Med Pro) product designed for licensed medical professionals with strong income stability and earning potential up to 100 percent LTV ratios. Program highlights include, no borrower paid MI Required, DTIs up to 50 percent, Loan sizes up to $2M, Minimum loan amount $100,000 fixed or $300,000 ARMs, Minimum credit score of 700 and Primary residence only. Eligible Professional Occupations are limited to those with established predictable income trajectories and employment stability that support the underwriting of high LTV loans with projected income. Contact your sales coverage for more details. To learn more about this new program, join us for live upcoming trainings: June 30th at 2PM EST, July 9th at 2PM EST and July 16th at 2PM EST.”
Every generation has its workplace giveaways. Boomers had briefcases, Gen X had fax machines, millennials had MapQuest, and Gen Z has never known the joy of yelling at a printer that refuses to connect. LenderLogix’s latest blog looks at a shift mortgage lenders should be paying attention to: younger borrowers and younger loan officers are increasingly speaking the same digital language. With millennials making up a major share of mortgage inquiries and Gen Z continuing to enter the market, the tools lenders give their teams matter more than ever. The blog breaks down why digital-native loan officers are well-positioned for today’s borrower expectations and how mortgage technology can help lenders attract talent, improve borrower experience, and build for where the industry is headed. Read the full blog here.
Less back-and-forth. More first-time-right verifications. Truework replaces manual verification waterfalls with a single automated platform, so underwriters, LOs, and ops can cut down the document chasing, conflicting numbers, and last-minute corrections. Lenders see up to 50 percent cost savings on verifications, with faster turn times, higher accuracy, and stronger R&W relief. Trusted by 4 of the top 5 lenders in the U.S., Truework gives your team verification results they can rely on. Learn more.
The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the industry to be viewed by lenders in a very cost-effective manner. We’re adding new providers daily, so check back often to see what’s new. To reserve your place or learn more, contact us at info@chrismancommentary.com.
Approaching webcasts and video shows
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Today at 10AM PT is Mortgages with Millennials. Nicole Nosek joins Robbie Chrisman and Kristin Messerli to discuss the future of homeownership and the evolving housing market. The conversation explores changing consumer expectations, affordability challenges, and the trends shaping the next generation of borrowers.
Tomorrow at 11AM PT is Mortgage Matters. Sponsored by Lenders One, Garreth Long, SVP of Title, Trustee and Valuations at Altisource will discuss title, valuations, and operational strategy that lenders should be cognizant of. The conversation focuses on driving efficiency, improving borrower experiences, and positioning organizations for long term success.
Also tomorrow, but at noon PT, is The AI Show sponsored by JazzX AI. Rebecca Seward, Brooke Anderson Tompkins, Jagjit Singh, Mike Hogan, and Tela Gallagher Mathias examine the realities of AI adoption beyond the hype. The panel explores workforce readiness, governance, implementation challenges, and what it takes to move from experimentation to execution.
Housing investors and the 21st Century ROAD Act
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The proposed (passed by Congress but unsigned by President Trump) 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act aims to curb large institutional ownership of single-family homes, but its broad and complex exemptions (particularly for build-to-rent projects, age-restricted communities, and rehabilitated properties) may significantly limit its practical impact and leave ample room for investors to adapt their strategies.
Meanwhile, the actual investor-mortgage market remains dominated by smaller landlords rather than large institutions, with roughly 1.4 million agency-backed investor loans outstanding totaling $275 billion, heavily concentrated in California, Texas, and Florida. Since 2023, investor mortgage production has remained relatively stable in dollar volume despite lower loan counts, reflecting higher home prices rather than increased activity.
From a mortgage performance standpoint, investor properties have behaved similarly to second-home and owner-occupied loans, suggesting limited unique risk. Ultimately, while the legislation could alter how large institutional investors structure acquisitions, its effect on housing supply, rental availability, and mortgage issuance remains uncertain, especially given the industry’s ability to adapt within the law’s numerous exceptions.
Fee Standardization is About Data
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I received a note from Brian Vieaux, the President of MISMO, warning lenders to look beyond the name of a fee for standardization.
“When people first hear that MISMO has been working on fee standardization, the reaction is understandable. ‘Really? Fee names?’ I get it. On the surface, it does not sound like one of the biggest issues facing mortgage lending. We have affordability challenges, regulation, margin pressure, AI, market volatility…and we’re talking about fee names? But that is the wrong way to look at it.
“This is not really a project about fee names. It is a project about data. Today, a single mortgage loan can touch dozens of companies and systems before it reaches the secondary market. Lenders, title companies, settlement providers, LOS platforms, pricing engines, QC providers, investors, servicers…the list keeps growing. Every one of those handoffs depends on data being understood the same way by everyone involved.
“That has not always been the case with fees. Two organizations may be referring to the exact same fee and calling it something different. For years, the industry managed around that. Someone knew what it meant. Someone made a phone call. Someone updated a spreadsheet. The work got done. But our industry does not operate that way anymore.
“Information now moves between systems far more often than it moves between people. Software does not know that ‘Electronic Registration Fee,’ ‘MERS Registration,’ and ‘Mortgage Electronic Registration System Fee’ might all mean the same thing. It sees three different values. That is where friction starts.
“MISMO’s Fee Modernization work, and the recently published fee modernization white paper behind it, address both sides of the issue: the fee names consumers see, and the underlying data structures systems exchange behind the scenes. That second part matters more than many people realize.
“AI will only make this more important. AI does not magically fix inconsistent data. If anything, it exposes it. The better the data going in, the better the outcome coming out. That is why MISMO’s work on Fee Modernization, the Business Glossary, LINK AI, MCP, and FRAME all connect. They are different pieces of the same strategy: create trusted standards, improve data quality, and make it easier for technology to deliver consistent, reliable results.
“My blog article goes deeper on the work, the white paper, and why fee standardization is really another step toward a more connected mortgage ecosystem.” Thank you, Brian! #vieauxpoint
Capital markets: summer doldrums
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Agency MBS and U.S. Treasuries traded quietly to begin the holiday-shortened week, with weakness in shorter maturities offset by relative strength in the long bond as investors largely stayed on the sidelines amid a lack of economic data and improving sentiment in equity markets (geopolitical uncertainty continues to temper conviction). Absent a clear catalyst, muted activity should continue through the rest of the week. Investors continue to favor a cautious, “wait-and-see” approach, gravitating toward mid-coupon MBS while avoiding higher coupons amid expectations for at least one Federal Reserve rate hike by year-end; overall, Agency MBS remain attractively valued relative to investment-grade corporates.
As energy-driven inflation fears recede, markets are increasingly looking to June’s employment, wage, and inflation data to determine whether underlying price pressures remain persistent enough to justify a restrictive Fed despite easing headline inflation. Markets continue to price at least one rate hike before year-end, but conviction increasingly depends on incoming economic data rather than Fed rhetoric. Chair Warsh is expected to reinforce the Fed’s inflation-first framework in remarks at ECB’s Sintra Conference this week, but his more restrained communications strategy has left short-term Treasury yields highly sensitive to each new economic release.
Not everyone shares the market’s hawkish outlook. A growing minority argues that falling oil prices, softer consumer spending (outside the AI-driven investment boom), continued housing weakness (spring homebuying season was a dud), and signs of a gradually cooling labor market (payroll gains have averaged about 113k/month in 2026, reflecting a declining labor force) point toward disinflation rather than renewed inflation, raising the possibility that markets may ultimately have to unwind rate hike expectations if data continues to soften. The question is whether the economy is slowing enough to ease inflation pressures without materially weakening overall growth.
Today’s economic calendar has April house price indices from FHFA and S&P Case-Shiller. Those will be followed by June Chicago PMI and June Consumer Confidence. Consumer confidence is forecast to rise on the month’s decline in gas prices, and inflation expectations should fall, good tidings for the rest of the summer travel season. Tuesday starts with Agency MBS prices roughly unchanged from Monday’s close which were roughly unchanged from Friday’s close, the 2-year yielding 4.12, and the 10-year yielding 4.38 after closing yesterday at 4.37 percent.
“HOW TO SING THE BLUES: A PRIMER” (Part 2 of 4)
Teenagers can’t sing the Blues. They ain’t fixin’ to die yet. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues, “adulthood” means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.
Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don’t get rain.
A man with male pattern baldness ain’t the blues. A woman with male pattern baldness is. Breaking your leg ’cause you were skiing is not the blues. Breaking your leg ’cause an alligator be chomping on it is.
You can’t have no Blues in an office or a shopping mall. The lighting is wrong. Go outside to the parking lot or sit by the dumpster.
Good places for the Blues: highway, jailhouse, empty bed, bottom of a whiskey glass.
Bad places for the Blues: Nordstrom’s, gallery openings, Ivy League institutions, and golf courses.
Visit www.ChrismanCommentary.com for more information on our industry partners, access archived commentaries, or subscribe to the Daily Mortgage News and Commentary. You can also explore the Chrisman Marketplace, a centralized hub connecting mortgage professionals with trusted vendors and solutions. If you’re interested, check out my periodic blog on the STRATMOR Group website. STRATMOR’s current blog is “Pricing That Can Help Borrowers.” The Commentary’s podcast is available on all major platforms, including Apple and Spotify.
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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