eNote, AI, Servicing, Data Tools; Trigger Lead Adjustments; FICO Investigation; Home Price Appreciation is Complicated
Sometimes life comes down to a coin toss. Here in Virginia Beach, at the Southern Trust Mortgage Sales Summit, a conversation topic is originators not leaving their business to chance. Pricing practices are rarely left to chance, and Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to the CEO of Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO), to inform the company of his investigation into FICO’s pricing practices in the mortgage credit scoring market. Public policy is not left to chance either, and tomorrow’s guest on Mortgage Matters at 2PM ET, presented by Lenders One, is Nicole Booth, the Head of Public Policy at Zillow Home Loans. Finally, yesterday’s bond market price action, driven by a tweet, might seem like a dice toss, but… This month’s STRATMOR piece is titled, “Mortgage Rates Are Not Random.” (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by Quorum Federal Credit Union offering a broker outlet. Quorum empowers brokers to close more deals with flexible, high-LTV mortgage and HELOC solutions featuring up to 4 percent comp, low FICO options, and versatile programs for nearly every borrower scenario. Hear an Interview with Xactus’ Shelley Leonard and Experian’s Michele Bodda on shifts in credit scoring, opportunities to modernize data and workflows, misconceptions that slow progress, and how lenders should approach credit strategy in 2026.)
Products, Services, and Software for Brokers and Lenders
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.
“Recapture, without compromise. Servbank helps you capture more value while safeguarding the customer experience that defines your brand. Our purpose‑built tools and real‑time insights give you full visibility, control, and confidence, backed by industry‑leading performance. Discover how our team at Servbank serves to a higher standard.”
Don’t miss Kind’s March Madness special on non-QM. Your loan deal just got better. Kind is offering a 25-bps improvement on key non-QM programs like Non-QM Full Doc, Bank Statement, Asset Utilization, P&L Only, 1-Year 1099, and WVOE Only. Plus, a 25-bps improvement on DSCR Purchase and 12.5 bps improvement on DSCR Refinance. Price special shown as credit at the time of lock. Lock the rate in Kwikie before the buzzer on March 31st, 2026. Log into Kwikie here! Make The Pass: Contact your Kind AE today! Not an approved partner? Let’s change that! Join the Kind movement here!
Introducing a refreshed MeridianLink, with a modern look and an even stronger commitment to helping you create meaningful mortgage lending moments. At the heart of it all is MeridianLink® One: a unified platform powering mortgage and consumer lending, account opening, and data intelligence. It brings everything together, so your teams can spend less time navigating systems and more time serving people. Here’s what that means for your mortgage lending business: Smart, data-driven tools that help you personalize every borrower interaction, AI and automation that simplify workflows so your team can move faster with confidence, and flexible solutions designed to support lasting relationships, not just transactions. For years, lenders have trusted MeridianLink to power their growth. That foundation remains strong. Our new look simply reflects who we’ve always been: a partner committed to making digital lending more connected, more efficient, and more human. Meet the new MeridianLink.
Early Default Outreach Is Under the Microscope. Are You Ready? With increasing scrutiny on borrower communications, early default intervention is no place for guesswork. Frequency, timing, and message content all need to align with evolving regulatory expectations. Clayton helps servicers stay ahead. From enhancing FHA delinquency notice cover letters to refining GSE payment reminder processes, Clayton’s Servicing Oversight team works with clients to strengthen outreach while reducing compliance risk. The result? More effective borrower engagement without exposing your organization to unnecessary regulatory findings. If your default communication strategy hasn’t been reviewed recently, now is the time. Strengthen your approach with Clayton’s trusted servicing experts: learn more.
Webinar Signup: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to AI in Mortgage Lending. AI has officially entered the mortgage universe, and most lenders are still trying to figure out where it actually fits. Join LenderLogix CEO Patrick O’Brien and the Ohio MBA on April 14 at 2PM EST for a practical discussion on how AI is showing up in mortgage tech, where it can improve efficiency and borrower experience, and how to think clearly about what is useful versus what is just noise. Save your seat today.
AI isn’t the future of mortgage lending. It’s how top lenders are winning TODAY. In a recent conversation with HousingWire, Total Expert Founder & CEO Joe Welu shared how AI is transforming the way lenders turn customer data into action. Missed calls, slow follow-ups, and inconsistent outreach cost you deals. In today’s market, every missed opportunity impacts revenue. Total Expert’s AI Sales Assistant ensures every lead is engaged instantly. It reaches out on your behalf, qualifies prospects, nurtures conversations, and hands off warm opportunities to loan officers at the right moment. This isn’t about replacing LOs… It’s about amplifying them. By automating follow-up, it frees teams to focus on relationships, advice, and closing. The result is more conversations, more appointments, and more funded loans. Watch the full conversation here.
The MERS® eRegistry recently surpassed 3 million eNotes. This milestone signals a decisive shift toward end‑to‑end digital mortgages, as lenders, investors and warehouse banks increasingly adopt eNotes as a standard business practice. For mortgage professionals focused on scaling efficiently and staying competitive, understanding what’s driving this adoption is essential. Explore the key drivers and what they mean for your business in ICE Mortgage Technology’s latest blog.
The Chrisman Marketplace is a centralized hub for vendors and service providers across the mortgage 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.
LOs Should Understand Appreciation and Geography
Home price appreciation has continued to decelerate meaningfully from the surge seen in 2020–2021, with annual gains now hovering near flat levels despite prices still sitting more than 50 percent above early-decade levels. This cooling has become increasingly widespread, with several large states experiencing outright year-over-year declines and a majority of markets showing price softening more recently, pointing to a housing market that is approaching a plateau. While this moderation offers some relief by easing the pace of deterioration in affordability and stabilizing mortgage loan sizes, it does little to reverse the cumulative affordability shock created by years of outsized home price growth.
At the same time, the rise in affordable housing construction reflects deeper structural changes that have been building since the post-2008 period and accelerated through the pandemic. As developers shifted away from for-sale housing and institutional capital moved into rental markets, the affordable segment emerged as a focal point of sustained demand, further amplified by low financing costs during COVID. In the current environment, however, higher rates and tighter financial conditions have made development more complex, requiring layered capital stacks that combine tax credits, public subsidies, and private investment. This evolution underscores both the scale of the affordability challenge and the increasingly sophisticated financial ecosystem that has developed to address it.
Geographically, the path to affordability remains highly fragmented, shaped by local policy, land dynamics, and population trends. Coastal markets tend to rely on regulatory frameworks that mandate or incentivize affordable housing, while Sun Belt regions benefit from more flexible zoning and lower costs that enable faster, market-driven expansion. And the Midwest is picking up steam. Despite these differing approaches and a recent increase in supply, the broader housing deficit persists, suggesting that current progress is more about preventing further deterioration than achieving a meaningful reset. Ultimately, structural constraints such as localized regulation and the inherently site-built nature of housing continue to limit scalability, reinforcing the need for a sustained and multi-dimensional approach to improving affordability.
Trigger Leads, Relationships, and LOs
In this week's VieauxPoint, Ethan Vieaux highlights how the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act is reshaping mortgage marketing by reducing reliance on trigger leads and limiting unsolicited outreach. The shift moves the industry away from speed-driven competition and toward borrower consent, trust, and existing relationships. He makes the case that lenders need to engage earlier in the journey through education, tools, and consistent value instead of waiting until after a credit pull. For a deeper look at what this means for strategy and where the opportunity lies, read the full article.
Capital Markets
Here in the U.S. Freddie and Fannie are reportedly out buying MBS, but lenders and LOs know that we’re in a global economy, and decisions made overseas can impact our mortgage rates. Central banks across Asia have largely kept interest rates unchanged in response to rising energy prices driven by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Unlike in 2022, when rate hikes were used to combat inflation, policymakers are cautious this time due to already high rates, fragile consumer demand, and slow growth. Investors are betting that inflation stemming from the ongoing war in Iran could prompt the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates this year, a significant shift from earlier expectations of rate cuts. Futures market traders now see a nearly 50 percent chance of a quarter-point rate hike by October.
This change has led to a sell-off in short-term Treasury securities as well as mortgage-backed securities, with the two-year yield nearing a 12-month high. The Federal Reserve may consider raising interest rates due to stubborn inflation, rising oil prices and a less restrictive monetary policy. Although the Fed has signaled potential rate cuts, inflation remains above the 2 percent target, with the personal consumption expenditures price index showing 2.8 percent inflation and 3.1 percent core inflation in January. Despite the Trump administration's efforts to stimulate the economy, the Fed's current target rate of 3.5-3.75 percent is only slightly above the neutral rate.
In terms of the bond market activity yesterday, an improvement in geopolitical sentiment yesterday after President Trump announced he was delaying potential U.S. strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure to allow for possible negotiations (Iran denied any talks are taking place, bringing up questions about who is negotiating on behalf of “Iran”) ushered in a welcome rally in bond markets. The reaction was immediate, with oil prices falling, equities rising, and investors dialing back expectations for tighter monetary policy. Let’s see how the rest of the week unfolds.
This week’s surveys will offer an early look at how businesses and consumers are reacting to the conflict in the Middle East, with PMIs expected to show rising input costs and scrutiny surrounding demand. Consumer sentiment is expected to weaken further due to higher gas prices and inflation concerns, though current finances may remain moderately supported by stronger tax refunds.
Although oil price moves and war news dominates the markets, today’s scheduled economic calendar got underway with the previously delayed updates on Q4 productivity unit labor costs, and Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing for March (-23.9, worsening). Later today brings Redbook same store sales for the week ending March 21, preliminary S&P Global PMIs, Richmond Fed manufacturing and services, Treasury activity that will be headlined by $69 billion 2-year notes, and remarks from Fed Governor Barr. We begin Tuesday with Agency MBS prices are worse than Monday’s close by about .125-.250, the 2-year yielding 3.89, and the 10-year yielding 4.38 after closing yesterday at 4.33 percent.