Editor’s Note: The Mortgage Mix is RISMedia’s weekly highlight reel of need-to-know mortgage-industry happenings. Watch for it each Friday afternoon.
- The uptick in mortgage rates has continued for the fourth consecutive week. According to the latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey® from Freddie Mac, The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.65% this week, up from last week’s rate of 6.5%.
- While mortgage rates have been on a four-week rise, mortgage applications have experienced a contrary trend for the same period. The number of folks applying for mortgages decreased by 5.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier.
- United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) posted its latest Q4 and full-year earnings report earlier this week. UWM saw a net income of $931.9 million for 2022 and a net loss of only $62.5 million in Q4. Company executives said 2022 was a historic year as the company snagged the No. 1 overall mortgage lender title in the U.S.
- Rocket Companies also reported its fourth quarter and full-year earnings, posting annual and quarterly losses but still showing positive net income for 2022 overall. The Michigan, Detroit-based company reeled in $481 million in Q4 2022—well below the same period in 2021. Company executives cited market headwinds and economic volatility as factors in their lackluster earnings.
- Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC, a subsidiary of HomeServices of America specializing in residential and refinance loans, recently announced plans to buy Scottsdale, Arizona-based JFQ Lending, LLC. According to statements from Prosperity executives, the lender “has been looking to add a direct-to-consumer business line for some time, and JFQ was far and away the best we’ve encountered.”
