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Mortgage Technology “You cannot replace all support staff in this industry of course, but you can certainly help make the job easier and handle more volume with technology.” By Andy W. Harris, CRMS
MARCH 2016 n National Mortgage Professional Magazine n
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’m a huge fan of mortgage software and technology. That is, technology that can make everything we do faster and easier. The more I can streamline the process and make a better experience for my clients, the faster I’ll pull out my wallet. My company has added a number of new technologies over the years, and we are always looking for that next wave of unique systems and ideas. It can take a lot of money to develop special software, so I believe feedback from the industry is critical to get it right. Each good form of technology I’ve either considered or even used seems to have everything other than a few minor (but vital) details. I question where the developers are getting their insight or ideas. Is it directly from the industry, or someone that used to work in the industry, possibly not cutting it, and now providing advice to or working for a tech company. Not necessarily the best advice if they were not a top performer and knowing what is needed for mortgage origination and operations. You cannot replace all support staff in this industry of course, but you can certainly help make the job easier and handle more volume with technology. Any time you can improve speed, compliance and processing, this is a huge value added proposition to a mortgage company. The most important thing these programmers and coders need (whatever you call them) is relative industry feedback from active, successful mortgage professionals. What is your favorite mortgage technology? Where have you found success in cutting costs or speeding up/improving the mortgage process? Are you an originator? Send in your stories! To have topics considered in future editions, please e-mail me with “OrigiNation” in the Subject Line at AHarris@VantageMortgageGroup.com. These can be confidential or your name and company can be referenced if you wish.
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Andy W. Harris, CRMS is president and owner of Lake Oswego, Ore.-based Vantage Mortgage Group Inc. and past president of the Oregon Association of Mortgage Professionals. He may be reached by phone at (877) 496-0431, e-mail AHarris@VantageMortgageGroup.com or visit VantageMortgageGroup.com.
Tennessee (6.9 percent). The metro areas with the biggest year-over-year increase in share of flips were Lakeland, Fla. (up 50 percent); New Haven, Conn. (up 45 percent); Jacksonville, Fla. (up 41 percent); Homosassa Springs, Fla. (up 40 percent); and Akron, Ohio (up 37 percent). Among metro markets, the Miami area had the most homes flipped, with 10,658, representing 8.6 percent of all Miami-area home sales for 2015—a four percent increase from 2014. And what is the payoff for these flips? RealtyTrac reports that homes flipped in 2015 yielded an average gross profit of $55,000 nationwide, the highest level in 10 years. The average gross flipping profit represented an average gross return on investment of 45.8 percent, up from 44.2 percent in 2014 and up from a 35.3 percent in 2005. “As confidence in the housing recovery spreads, more real estate investors and would-be real estate investors are hopping on the home flipping bandwagon,” said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at RealtyTrac. “Not only is the share of home flips on the rise again, but we also see the flipping trend trickling down to smaller investors who are completing fewer flips per year. The total number of investors who completed at least one flip in 2015 was at the highest level since 2007, and the number of flips per investor was at the lowest level since 2008.”
Multifamily Construction Spending Up 30 Percent YoY Spending on construction for multifamily housing far outpaced singlefamily housing in January, according to new data from the Associated General Contractors of America. Spending on multifamily residential construction increased by 2.6 percent for the previous month and skyrocketed 30 percent year-over-year, but singlefamily spending fell 0.2 percent from December while experiencing a respectable 6.6 percent increase compared to January 2015. Private residential spending was flat for the month but increased 7.7 percent compared to January 2015, while private nonresidential construction spending increased one percent for the month and 11.5 percent from a year earlier. “There were solid gains for both the month and year in apartment, non-residential and highway construction,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Although favorable weather may have boosted these results, demand for many types of projects remains strong despite worries that the overall economy has slowed.”
National Mortgage Settlement Monitor Concludes Servicing Oversight Another chapter in the aftermath of the 2008 crash came to a conclusion as the federal monitor for the National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) announced that his office uncovered no failed metrics by the original NMS servicers during the third quarter of 2015 and will now end the NMS rules imposed on those companies. In the report “Original Servicers’ Final Compliance Update” with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, NMS Monitor Joseph A. Smith Jr. affirmed that the remaining servicers under this authority—Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Ditech and Wells Fargo—successfully met their NMS mortgage servicing standards during the third quarter and are no longer in need of his oversight. “The Settlement has improved the way these servicers treat distressed borrowers,” said Smith. “The banks undertook more than 630,000 transactions and provided borrowers with more than $50 billion in consumer relief, and I believe the Settlement contributed towards the rebuilding of public trust and confidence in the mortgage market. I hope that it will inform future regulation of financial institutions and markets.”
New Report Finds Imbalance Between Renter Population and Affordable Units The renter population is growing in the 11 largest metropolitan areas, but affordable housing options in these markets are shrinking, according to the newly-released NYU Furman Center/Capital One National Affordable Rental Housing Landscape report. Using a definition of “affordable rent” to cover less than 30 percent of a household’s income, the report tracked housing trends in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., between 2006 and 2014. In all 11 metro areas, the renter population grew faster than the inventory of affordable rental units—and by 2014, the typical renter could afford fewer than 40 percent of the units on the market in the previous year in nine of those areas. In the Miami, New York, and Los Angeles metro areas, the typical renter could afford fewer than 25 percent of rental units. “This study shows that affordable housing is becoming increasingly out of continued on page 83