Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s biweekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it every other Friday afternoon.
- After weeks of mortgage rates rising and refinancing retreating in turn, rates have now trickled back down again—with the 30-year mortgage rate reaching 6.37%—following the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. “Recent geopolitical developments have brought a slight reprieve to mortgage rates, though they remain well above February’s lows. Despite higher rates having eaten into some of the affordability gains from earlier in the year, March was one of the busiest months for newly pending home sales since late 2022,” said Kara Ng, senior economist at Zillow Home Loans.
- The ICE Mortgage Monitor found that the spring 2026 market is “easing,” due to improved inventory and affordability, but that any market rebound remains moderate. “(The Spring market) reflects a shift toward borrowers adjusting expectations, rather than gaining meaningful purchasing power,” National Mortgage Professional reported.
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have announced certain changes for their single-family mortgage purchases, with Fannie changing its prefunding rules as Freddie extends the cash out refinance maximum term from 20 to 30 years. This is part of a trend of support for homeownership via manufactured housing, with the recent comprehensive housing bill passed by the Senate including regulation changes intended to ease the construction and zoning of manufactured homes.
- According to findings from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, both Rocket Companies and United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) remain the top lenders, but each one surpassed their competitor in a distinct way. While Rocket originated more loans (429,332) in 2025 than UWM (422,120), UWM stayed ahead in dollar volume, posting production volume of $164.32 billion compared to Rocket’s $116.16 billion.
- UWM has launched a short-term incentive program, Purchase Boost 50, that cuts 50 basis points of a new mortgage rate locked between April 8 and April 14. The incentive applies to loans for use on a primary home, a secondary home or an investment property. A borrower must have a minimum FICO score of 700 to be eligible.
- Rocket Pro has announced a “Power Play” purchase initiative for April which offers a 60-basis point credit for loans. Part of the initiative is a second, 40-basis point credit offered by Compass, which has also partnered with Rocket for other business. According to Rocket, the credits can generate more than $5,400 for a borrower at closing on an average loan.
- First American, the parent company of First American Mortgage Solutions LLC, has filed a lawsuit against reverse mortgage servicer Novad. The dispute arises due to Novad’s previous litigation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In 2022, First American performed services for Novad while the company was under contract with HUD to work on reverse mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The HUD-Novad contract was terminated in December 2022, and First American issued a default notice to Novad in September 2023. Novad supposedly told First American they were using HUD to receive payment and would notify them once they were; First American, in the current lawsuit, claims Novad did not inform them of a settlement reached with HUD in 2025.
