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PLTA is proud to offer ALTA News to members
ALTA News: Headlines and news from various media sources, keeping you
"in the know" about issues impacting business and the real estate and
mortgage markets.
Fannie Mae has announced it will be scrapping the minimum credit score requirement of 620 for loans submitted through its Desktop Underwriter engine. The change comes into effect this weekend and follows a similar move by fellow mortgage middleman Freddie Mac several years ago, potentially allowing more Americans to qualify for loans from lenders who review borrower information through their underwriting systems.
Mortgage rates ticked up slightly on Thursday but essentially held steady as markets took a pause amid cautious optimism over the federal government’s reopening after the longest-ever shutdown, tempered by lingering economic uncertainty. The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans rose to 6.24% for the week ending Nov. 13, up from 6.22% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. Rates averaged 6.78% during the same period in 2024.
Foreclosure filings climbed again in October, after sitting at historic lows in recent years, according to new data released Thursday. While the numbers are still small, the persistent rise in foreclosures may be a sign of cracks in the housing market.
Artificial intelligence was supposed to supercharge the economy, and in many ways, it has. Wall Street’s bull market has largely been fueled by AI optimism, buoying stock portfolios, bond markets and 401(k) performance alike. For anyone who felt a shiver run down their spine the first time they tried a generative AI tool, or closely followed headlines of AI companies whose mission is to “take your job,” the news may have read like the first installment of a major turning point for the housing market and economy as a whole: If some of the highest earners are losing their jobs to automation, who can afford homes?
The United States housing market is expected to make incremental progress in 2026, with affordability inching higher and regional differences persisting. According to First American deputy chief economist Odeta Kushi, “mortgage rates [will hold] in the low 6% range, but we could see movements lower from today’s levels toward six.”
Bargain mortgages originated by builders are helping more people get onto the property ladder. The hidden cost is inflated home values and underwater loans. Big home builders are offering the cheapest mortgages in the market.
If we’ve learned anything from 2022 and 2023, even 2024, it is that they are not 2020 and 2021. Volumes and margins have dropped, as have profits. The number of lenders and originators have dropped as well. And those originators, whether they are brokers, IMB loan officers (LOs), or bank and credit union LOs, have had to adapt to a shifting environment where they not only can’t sit at their desk, waiting for the phone to ring, but must go out and actively look for new business.
Commercial real estate dealmaking remained sluggish through the third quarter, with total activity “stalled at pre-Covid levels,” according to Moody’s data reported by CNBC. Although the overall dollar volume rose 5% year-over-year, analysts described the market tone as restrained and selective. Transaction data for September underscored that shift. Across roughly 1,700 deals, the average transaction size reached $12.7 million—slightly higher than a year earlier and above the two-year average of $11.2 million.
President Donald Trump late Wednesday signed into law a funding bill to end the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. The measure, which will fund government operations through the end of January, was passed by the House of Representatives earlier Wednesday night in a 222-209 vote. ALTA CEO Chris Morton said ending the shutdown alleviates the uncertainty that homebuyers, sellers and lenders, have experienced for more than a month, allowing real estate transactions to move forward without further delay. “Over the course of the shutdown, real estate transactions across the country faced delays due to limited access to critical federal services, including income verification through the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Housing Administration loan processing and the National Flood Insurance Program,” Morton said. In a survey of ALTA members conducted during the shutdown, 54% of respondents said real estate transactions were impacted. The shutdown of key government agencies like the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Agriculture also impacted transactions due to payoff delays, according to the survey.
As the housing market heads into its traditionally slowest season, homebuyers are making one last gasp, likely due to more supply on the market and softening prices. Mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 6% last week to their strongest pace since September, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. Volume was 31% higher than the same week one year ago.
Two major government reports on inflation and the labor market for October are “likely never” to be released, the White House press secretary said Wednesday. The six-week government shutdown largely halted the release of government data that Wall Street and economic policymakers rely on to measure the economy’s health. Though the shutdown is expected to end soon, the White House indicated the reports on inflation and employment for last month will be lost due to the long closure of federal agencies.
A bombshell study has identified rising housing costs as the the primary driver of falling fertility rates in the United States, underscoring the widespread impact of the housing crisis on the nation's changing demographics. Rising housing costs were responsible for 51% of the total U.S. fertility rate decline between the 2000s and 2010s, according to new research by Benjamin K. Couillard, a doctoral candidate in economics at the University of Toronto.
A national retail chain signs a 25-year ground lease to build a flagship store on a prime urban parcel. The tenant will spend millions constructing the building, installing fixtures, and customizing the space, but they won’t own the land. To finance these improvements, the tenant seeks a leasehold mortgage. This type of financing allows the tenant to borrow against its leasehold interest, ideally without negatively affecting the landlord’s ownership of the property. While increasingly common, leasehold mortgages can carry significant risks.
While digital staging is nothing new to real estate, bot-made listings are forcing homebuyers and professionals to ask themselves if this is a straight-up deceptive practice.
When I stepped into the role of president of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) just ahead of the 2025 MBA Annual Convention, I was already familiar with its reputation. MISMO had long been the quiet backbone of the mortgage industry, the organization that made interoperability possible, the translator that allowed thousands of systems and stakeholders to speak the same language.
Two major government reports on inflation and the labor market for October are “likely never” to be released, the White House press secretary said Wednesday. The six-week government shutdown largely halted the release of government data that Wall Street and economic policymakers rely on to measure the economy’s health. Though the shutdown ended last night, the White House indicated the reports on inflation and employment for last month will be lost due to the long closure of federal agencies.
Fannie Mae officials who were recently removed from their positions were investigating whether Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte improperly obtained mortgage records of Democratic officials, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Fannie Mae’s ethics and investigations team had received internal complaints that senior officials directed staff to access the mortgage documents of James and others.
Young adults are being hit hard by a weakening job market and a worsening housing crisis. The unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 24 has shot up beyond 10%, far outpacing job losses in the broader workforce. This economic slowdown adds to the already steep barriers young people face when trying to live independently today. Even before the recent rise in unemployment, many young adults struggled to afford housing or form their own households.
Take ALTA's FinCEN Compliance Survey
The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced last month that it will postpone implementation of its Residential Real Estate Rule until March 1, 2026. To better quantify the burden of this rule, ALTA has launched the FinCEN Compliance Survey. We are urging all title insurance professionals to complete this important survey by Dec. 5. Your insight matters: Complete the survey today.
Most homebuyers looking to cover the cost of buying a home turn to mortgage lenders, who pore over financial details like salaries, bank balances and retirement accounts to determine how risky it is to lend the money. That review process has typically excluded crypto assets. But for the roughly 15% of Americans who invest in digital assets, that could soon change.
Job cuts in the United States last month reached the highest level since 2003. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, a 175% rise from the 55,597 cuts announced in October 2024. The industries with the most cuts were warehousing, technology, retail and the service sector.
House hunters hoping to celebrate Thanksgiving in a new home this month might be in luck, as a growing number of metros are shifting from seller's to buyer's markets, offering shoppers more options and bargaining power. In early summer, seven of the top 50 U.S. metros—led by Miami, Austin, TX, and Orlando, FL— moved into buyer’s market territory, as their months of supply surpassed the six-month benchmark, according to Realtor.com data.
On a sunny afternoon on the shores of Trout Lake in northern Wisconsin, a Catholic sister and a Tribal president sat together at a table and made history. Two years ago, the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, a Catholic congregation, had approached the Lac Du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, a part of the Ojibwe Nation, and the original caretakers of the land, with an unheard of proposition: Would they like a piece of their land back?
The Trump administration has formally determined the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s current funding mechanism is unlawful, a move that puts the agency on track to close in the coming months when its existing cash runs out. The decision, disclosed in a court filing late Monday, marks the administration’s most direct effort yet to dismantle the consumer watchdog and sets up a new front in the ongoing legal battle over its future.
The Veterans Affairs home loan benefit has been available for more than 81 years, yet misconceptions about the program persist, a Navy Federal Credit Union survey found. These misunderstandings affect both eligible borrowers and real estate professionals concerned about VA requirements. VA mortgage applications accounted for 13.4% of all mortgage applications in the week ending Oct. 24, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with the Federal Housing Administration at 20.5% and the remainder largely conventional loans.
The Big Four title insurance firms reported strong Q3 2025 revenue growth fueled by refinance orders and tech investments. Falling mortgage rates during the third quarter of 2025 were certainly a boon for the Big Four title insurance firms who all saw title insurance revenue rise year-over-year during the quarter
As mortgage rates trickle down, the number of those with the potential to refinance their homes continues to expand. The latest ICE Mortgage Monitor shows that the number of “high quality” borrowers who can refinance their loans is now at a 3.5-year high of 1.7 million. ICE counts high-quality refi candidates as those who could trim their rate by at least 0.75 percentage points and have a FICO score of 720 or higher and more than 20% equity in their houses.
The Senate was on track Sunday night to pass a deal that could end the federal government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1. A person familiar with the deal told CNBC that enough Democratic senators had agreed to vote for the deal to clear a 60-vote minimum threshold. It would fund the U.S. government through the end of January.
Fannie Mae has announced it will eliminate the 620 minimum credit score requirement for loans processed through its Desktop Underwriter (DU) system, effective November 16, 2025. The change, detailed in the latest DU Version 12.0 release notes and Selling Guide update, represents a major shift in mortgage eligibility and could help more borrowers with lower credit scores but solid finances qualify for loans.
The Trump administration is moving forward with a plan to introduce a 50-year fixed-rate mortgage, a reform officials believe could make homeownership more feasible for millions of Americans amid soaring prices and mounting affordability concerns.
American households' debt burdens increased to the highest level on record in the third quarter of 2025, according to a new report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The New York Fed's Center for Microeconomic Data released its quarterly report on household debt and credit this week, which showed that household debt rose by $197 billion in the third quarter to a record of $18.59 trillion.
Deed fraud is getting easier to pull off. ALTA member Brian Pitman, CEO of Independence Title, said artificial intelligence can now replicate notary signatures and seals so convincingly that even legitimate notaries sometimes have no idea their credentials were used.
With mortgage rates elevated, more borrowers are turning to adjustable-rate loans for relief. Adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, made up about 10% of all mortgage applications in September — the highest share in nearly two years and well above the post-2008 average of 6%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
High prices and high mortgage rates are making it hard for many people to get a toehold in the housing market.
As the ongoing U.S. government shutdown that commenced on Oct. 1 dragged through its first full month, mortgage rate locks held relatively steady, though October’s overall volumes fell 1.3% from September, Mortgage Capital Trading reported.
Zillow is facing a class-action lawsuit that claims the company used its powerful lead generation programs to steer homebuyers toward its own mortgage business — and rewarded agents who went along. The complaint, filed Nov. 7 in federal court in Seattle, alleges that Zillow violated federal and state consumer protection laws by creating a system of "kickbacks" and incentives for agents, linking Zillow Home Loans referrals to leads.
In November, PwC and the Urban Land Institute released their annual Emerging Trends in Real Estate 2026 report, ranking the top 10 markets to watch in 2026. The Dallas-Fort Worth market ranked first for the second year in a row both commercial and homebuilding prospects lists this year, according to the report.
Last week saw a big swing in mortgage interest rates, and that took a toll on demand. Total mortgage application volume fell 1.9% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
U.S. regional banks’ commercial real estate loan books are proving broadly resilient despite worries sparked by a handful of soured loans, but the office sector continues to be a pain point, analysts said.
The United States housing market continued to move at a crawl, with pending home sales rising just 0.7% year over year in the four weeks ending November 2—a pace not seen since 2019.
United States household debt continued its steady climb in the third quarter of 2025, reaching a record $18.59 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s latest Household Debt and Credit Report.
Homebuyers are seeing more choices when it comes to shopping around for a new house. The number of active homes on the market increased 14% year over year, according to the Realtor.com Weekly Housing Trends report. This marks the 104th straight week of annual gains in inventory. For perspective, there were about 1.1 million homes for sale last week.
The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage ticked up for the first time in five weeks after falling to its lowest level in more than a year last week. The average long-term mortgage rate moved up to 6.22% from 6.17% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.79%.
Even though the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates twice this year, 30-year fixed mortgage rates are still floating above 6% — where they’ve been stuck since February 2023. Rates currently sit at an average of 6.37%, per Mortgage News Daily, well above the level where 40% of would-be buyers say they’d feel comfortable purchasing a home, according to a Bankrate survey from early 2025. Why aren’t mortgage rates falling faster?
Property taxes are rising across much of America, but where you live makes all the difference. The median U.S. property tax bill in 2024 rose to $3,500, up 2.8% from the previous year, largely driven by surging home values and shifting local tax rates. However, some homeowners are paying a significantly different amount due to the states they live in, according to Realtor.com.
America’s biggest builders are struggling to sell homes even when they offer buyers a 4% mortgage. Their experience suggests rate cuts alone won’t be enough to boost weak sales in the wider housing market. The number of completed but unsold new homes has reached levels last seen in the summer of 2009, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows.
“The last three months have been truly exceptional for office demand in San Francisco,” Max Saia, head of investor research at VTS, told the Business Times.
The American Land Title Association’s (ALTA) new president says he wants the organization to engage with more members, advocate for the title insurance profession and continue to serve as an educational resource for industry professionals. David Townsend Esq., NTP, who was sworn in as ALTA’s president during the ALTA ONE conference in New York City in October, said, “I want to be a cheerleader for ALTA.”
Potatoes, pie, and precipitation. That’s what awaits much of the country this Thanksgiving. The Old Farmer’s Almanac has released its end-of-month weather predictions, and while Americans prepare for family gatherings and copious amounts of food on Nov. 27, they may also want to have raincoats and snow boots at the ready. Unless you live in two very specific parts of the country, where sunny skies are expected, most Americans should brace for wet or wintry weather. Even if you don’t get sunshine, at least the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade should go on uninterrupted.
High home prices and elevated mortgage rates have made it increasingly difficult for Gen Z and millennials to buy homes. The median age of first-time U.S. home buyers has significantly jumped during the past decade. Because incomes have not kept pace with housing costs, many younger Americans are locked out of homeownership.
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