The "spring buying season" continued to slug on for The Mortgage Collaborative's national network of best-in-class mortgage lending institution members that submit data to TMC Benchmark. Closed loan units increased by 2% in May compared to the previous month. Within that, lenders saw closed purchase loans increase by 17% but refinances fell by another 22% month over month to their lowest levels in the six-year history of TMC Benchmark. Refinances fell to an all-time low of 16% of all closings in May.
  
Here's the refinance share we've seen in TMC Benchmark over the last six months:
  
December 2021: 34%
January 2022: 39%
February 2022: 37%
March 2022: 29%
April 2022: 24%
May 2022: 16%
  
The % of conventional closings stayed steady in May at 69% (units). Historically, conventional loans have represented 75-76% of all closed loan units these past six years. On the flip side, government loan closings came in at an all-time high (by share) of 24% this month.
  
After falling 23% month-over-month in April, new applications were reduced by 3% in May from the previous month. The product mix of new applications also stayed consistent, mirroring the aforementioned percentage breakdowns of closed loan units we saw this month.
  
In May, operational efficiency waned slightly, staying pretty flat. The number of closed loan units closed per full-time processor remained steady at 8.2, and closed loan units per full-time closer decreased from 28.2 to 27.2. Closed loan units per full-time underwriter decreased from 24.4 to 23.6 in April. The average loan originator closed 4.3 units in May, the exact same as April. LO comp came in at an average of 86.7 bps, down 1.7 bps from last month's 88.4 total.
  
Average annual compensation paid to operational staff was very flat month-over-month, with average annual comp paid to FTE processors rising slightly to $51,800 this month. Underwriter annual comp ticked up slightly to $88,000. Average annual comp paid to closers remained at $54,000.
  
The average "app date to clear to close date" increased significantly to 42.3 this month as lenders dealt with staff attrition and pipelines of almost nothing but purchase transactions. Let's look at how this number trended throughout 2021 and now into 2022:
  
January '21 - 47.9
February '21 - 43.1
March '21 - 42.8
April '21 - 45.7
May '21 - 43.8
June '21 - 41.8 
July '21 - 43.2
August '21 - 42.5
September '21 - 42.3
October '21 - 42.6
November '21 - 41.0
December '21 - 34.0
January '22 - 40.1
February '22 - 39.6
March '22 - 39.6
April '22 - 39.6
May '22 – 42.3
  
The average cost per closed loan unit our members paid for their loan origination system (LOS) rose slightly yet again in May to $135 from $131 the previous month. The average cost per closed loan unit for our members' point-of-sale (POS) system was down $2 to $60 in May and reduced by $1 at $88 for their CRM.
  
Average non-third-party lender fees continue to trend upward on conventional loans, shooting up to $1,573 in May from $1,148 the previous month. Government lender fees rose from $1,108 to $1,217 in this most recent month.
  
54% of this month's participants in TMC Benchmark were depositories, and 46% were IMBs. 37% originate under $500M a year in annual volume, 27% originate between $500M-$1B, and 36% originate over $1 billion per year in annual production.
​
Rich Swerbinsky
President & COO, The Mortgage Collaborative
rswerbinsky@mtgcoop.com

The results are in! Scotsman Guide is out with its top 100 ranking lists for 2021 production, by total volume in dollars. The list below recognizes the top 100 lenders in overall production for 2021. TMC is proud to highlight our 32  recognized Lender Members!

11. CrossCountry Mortgage
14. New American Funding
17. Planet Home Lending
18. American Pacific Mortgage
20. PrimeLending
21. PRMG
24. Academy Mortgage Corp.
26. Northpointe Bank
33. Mutual of Omaha Mortgage
39. Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group
40. FirstBank (TN)
43. FBC Mortgage
47. NJ Lenders Corp
51. AnnieMac Home Mortgage
52. V.I.P. Mortgage
53. George Mason Mortgage
55. Nations Lending
60. Waterstone Mortgage
64. LeaderOne Financial
66. AmeriFirst Financial
71. Atlantic Coast Mortgage
76. Homestar Financial Corp.
77. First Heritage Mortgage
80. Axia Home Loans
83. VanDyk Mortgage
84. Mann Mortgage
89. Family First Funding
90. Revolution Mortgage
91. Peoples Mortgage Company
94. Legacy Mutual Mortgage
99. Ent Credit Union
​100. Mountain West Financial

Top Headlines
Fannie Mae's Equitable Housing Finance Plan & Fact Sheet
Freddie Mac's Equitable Housing Finance Plan & Fact Sheet
Introducing Maxwell's Point-of-Sale Mobile App
IBM Case Study: Home Lending Pal Leverages IBM’ Tech to Help More People Become Homeowners
Introducing Fannie Mae's Refinance Application-Level Index (RALI), Leading Indicator for Refinance & Prepayment Activity
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight: Weekly Market Updates - 6/22/22

Thought Leadership
Black Knight's Rich Gagliano: Leveraging Disaster Data to Manage Pipelines During Hurricane Season

Blogs
SimpleNexus eBook: Lending Ahead of the Curve - Role of Performance Scorecards in Optimizing Mortgage Productivity
Sales Boomerang & Mortgage Coach eBook: Home Equity Heroes
Certified Credit's New Cascade Undisclosed Debt Monitoring
Optimal Blue: 3 Characteristics of a Quality Mortgage Pricing Data Source
Total Expert eBook: Mortgage Cross-Sell Unlocked
Introducing Fannie Mae's Home View: Free, Interactive, Online Course to Help Borrowers Navigate the Homebuying Process

Media
(Video) SimpleNexus' Cathleen Schreiner Gates - Turning Mortgage Data Into Information with Nexus Vision
(Podcast) Lykken on Lending - 6/20/22: featuring Freddie Mac's Announcement to Reverify Employment with Direct Deposit Data

Events
(Webinar) TMC Connect reschedule: 6/30 @ 3:30 pm EST: Model Match - Key Elements of an Effective Recruitment Strategy
(Webinar) Non-QM Optimizer: Cost and Quality Meet - Verity Global Solutions - 06/30 @ 1 pm EST

Top Headlines
Black Knight Sees Dwindling Single-Family Home Inventory in Major Markets
Family First Funding Implements SimpleNexus to Provide Borrowers a Streamlined, Single Sign-On Homebuying Experience
Fannie Mae Launches New Weekly Refinance Index Tracker
Black Knight's Originations Market Monitor Shows Rate Locks Fall Across All Loan Types
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight Weekly Market Update
Freddie Mac Announces First Equitable Housing Plan Focusing on Black & Latino Communities

Thought Leadership
Triserv Lender Resource Series: Gross Living Area & Above/Below Grade
Curinios Perspective: As Fed Rate Hikes Again, Rate & Behavior Begin to Thaw

Personnel Announcements
Xactus Names Michael Crockett Chief Data Officer

Blogs
Black Knight Free Whitepaper: Natural Disasters & the Impact on the Mortgage Industry
ICYMI: Sales Boomerang eBook: Get Loans Now - 10 Ways to Turn Your Customers' Equity Into Loans That Convert Right Away

Media
(Video Interview) CMBA Connect, featuring Snapdocs CEO, Aaron King
(Video) Mortgage Coach presents: 2022 Half-time Report, featuring Sue Woodard & Kristin Messerli
(Podcast) Maxwell Clear to Close Podcast: How to Capitalize on 2022's Market with New Loan Products

Events
Fannie Mae 2022 Boot Camp Webcast Series
(Webinar) Sales Boomerang & Mortgage Coach present: Automation in Action - A True Lender Success Story with a Happy Ending - 7/12 @ 2 pm ET
(Webinar) Non-QM Optimizer: Cost and Quality Meet - Verity Global Solutions - 06/30 @ 1 pm EST​
(Webinar) The Key Elements of an Effective Recruiting Strategy with ModelMatch - 06/22 1 pm EST
(Webinar) #TMCSuccessStories - How University Bank Utilizes Venture Lynk's Risk Solutions to Create Streamlined Efficiencies - 06/22 @ 2 pm EST
(Webinar) CondoTek - Let's Talk Condo Lending - 06/22 3 pm EST
​(Webinar) If It Doesn't Make Dollars, Then It Doesn't Make Sense with MQMR - 06/23 2 pm EST

Top Headlines
Fannie Mae Launches Equitable Housing Plan for Minority Homeowners
Maxwell New QuickApply feature Accelerates the Loan Application Process
Mortgage Markets CUSO Implements Mortgage Coach
Fannie Mae National Housing Survey: Would-Be Homebuyers Feel Squeeze of Higher Home Prices & Mortgage Rates
Introducing Score Protection from Partners Credit
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight Weekly Market Update - 6/8/22
ActiveComply Features to Enhance Your Organization's Social Media Compliance
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Launch Plans to Close Racial Homeownership Gap 
Timios Partners with OrangeGrid to Transform How We Work By Modernizing Workflow Technology

Thought Leadership
Fannie Mae EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, Jeff Hayward: Knocking Down Barriers

Personnel Announcements
Planet Home Lending Correspondent Adds A Host of Industry Veterans Through HomePoint Correspondent Acquisition
iEmergent Appoints Chris Richey as Chief Analytics Officer
Cenlar Appoints Steven Taylor as SVP, Chief Information Officer

Blogs
Why OptiFunder? One Click to Optimize & Automate Your Warehouse Funding
FirstBank Saves Time and Money with ActiveComply
MGIC Offers Complimentary Homebuyer Seminar Kits to Lenders as Educational Resources to Drive More Eligible Homebuyers
MQMR Weekly FAQ: CFPB Supervisory Highlights (Spring 2022)

Free eBooks/Whitepapers
Download Black Knight's New Whitepaper: Trending Toward Zero: Changing Home Sale Dynamics in a Low-Inventory Market
Download MQMR's New Whitepaper: 8 Tips for Ensuring a Successful MERS Annual Report Review
Download FinLocker's New eBook: The Financial Habits of Future Homebuyers
ICYMI: Maxwell eBook: Mortgage Experts Take on 2022's Market
Sales Boomerang New eBook: Intent Matters

Media
(Video) Black Knight's Andy Walden on CNBC's The Exchange: What the Drop in Mortgage Demand Says About the Housing Market
(Video) Black Knight CIO, James Iredale Keynote at AWS Atlanta Summit
(Video) NMN: A Tale of Two Housing Markets, featuring Black Knight Mortgage Monitor Data
​(Podcast) Home Lending Pal: Disrupting the Mortgage Industry with Cloud and AI

Events
MGIC Webinar: How to Build Tomorrow's Pipeline, featuring Thrive Mortgage's Tay Tolliver – June 14th @ 1PM ET
Cyber Risk and Cyber Monitoring with Venture Lynk - June 15th
@ 2PM ET
June 2022 State of the Partner Network - June 16th
@ 2PM ET

Top Headlines
Maxwell Introduces Private Label Origination Suite to Empower Real Estate & Financial Service Companies to Add Mortgage Lending
Freddie Mac Expands Use of Bank Account Data for Verifications
Planet Financial Group LLC Subsidiaries Continue to Post Gains in 2021
Tom LaMalfa May 2022 Secondary Market Conference Survey Report & Scorecard 
AnnieMac Equips Loan Teams Nationwide with Powerful Mobile Mortgage Toolset from SimpleNexus
PHOENIX April 2022 Market Snapshot
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight Weekly Market Updates - 6/1 

Thought Leadership
MPA feature: SimpleNexus Co-Founder Ben Miller - Continuing to Simplify the Homebuying Process While Growing SimpleNexus' Homeownership Platform
Planet Home Lending SVP & Enterprise Risk Officer, Chris Jones: How Should Mortgage Bankers Measure Climate Risk?
Xactus Chairman & CEO, Perry Steiner: Significance of Xactus' New Name
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight: 4 Concepts to Consider When Refining Your Hedging Strategy

Personnel Announcements
Sales Boomerang Welcomes Cheryl Messner as VP, Customer Experience

Blogs
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight: New White Paper - Durations to Successfully Hedging Mortgage Pipelines
MQMR Weekly FAQ: FHA Quality Control Training
Notarize Independent Study by MarketWise: The ROI of eClosing in Real Estate
Inquire. Empower. Inform. What is The Rule Tool?
Capacity Recognized Among St. Louis Business Journal - Best Places to Work for 2022

Media
(Video Interview) IBM's Think 2022 Panel featuring Home Lending Pal's Bryan Young
(Podcast) Lykken on Lending: Hot Topic 5/23 - Top Strategies for a Purchase Market, featuring SimpleNexus CCO, Andria Lightfoot & Thrive Mortgage COO, Selene Kellam
(Podcast) NMP - Boxed Out, featuring Maxwell Co-Founder John Paasonen
(Video) Financial Literacy in the Digital Age Shift with Kristin Messerli
(Video) National MI University June 2022 Webinar Offerings

Events
SimpleNexus Webinar: New Loan Application User Interface - Tues., 6/7 @ 1PM ET
Total Expert Accelerate: June 12 – 15th | Nashville, TN

​There's no way to sugarcoat it; April was a tough month for The Mortgage Collaborative's national network of best-in-class mortgage lending institution members that submit data to TMC Benchmark. Closed loan units were down 15.7% from March as lenders felt the impact of significant increases in mortgage rates that started in January, but that really intensified in early March. The January increases shook a lot of potential refi customers off the fence. The March rate increases no longer made refinance viable for most. Refinances fell to a TMC Benchmark all-time low of 24% of all closings in April.
 
Here's the refinance share we've seen in TMC Benchmark over the last six months:
 
November 2021: 38%
December 2021: 34%
January 2022: 39%
February 2022: 37%
March 2022: 29%
April 2022: 24%
 
We also saw the % of conventional closings come in at a TMC Benchmark all-time low in April, falling to 69% (units). Government loan closings came in at 20%, and the "Other" category (all other products) rose to an all-time high of 11%.
 
After increasing 20% month-over-month in March, new applications fell 23% in April from the prior month. Of note, inside that number was the same trend we saw in closings, with new conventional apps falling (by %) and "Other" increasing. Conventional apps dropped to 67% in April, with "Other" rising from 10% to 12%. Government apps stayed steady by share at 21% from last month.
 
In April, operational efficiency waned in most areas, a byproduct of closed loan production dropping. The number of closed loan units closed per full-time processor fell from 9.2 in March to 8.3 in April, and closed loan units per full-time closer decreased from 31.0 to 28.2. In a strange anomaly, closed loan units per full-time underwriter increased to 24.4 from 19.8 the month prior. The average loan originator closed 4.3 units in April, down from 4.7 in March. LO comp came in at an average of 88.4 bps, down 5.7 bps from last month's 94.1 total.
 
Average annual compensation paid to operational staff was very flat month-over-month, with average annual comp paid to FTE processors coming in at $51,900 this month. Underwriter annual comp ticked up slightly to $86,800. Average annual comp paid to closers rose slightly to $54,000.
 
The average "app date to clear to close date" stayed identical for the third straight month at 39.6 days. Let's take a look at how this number trended throughout the course of 2021 and now into 2022:
 
January '21 - 47.9
February '21 - 43.1
March '21 - 42.8
April '21 - 45.7
May '21 - 43.8
June '21 - 41.8
July '21 - 43.2
August '21 - 42.5
September '21 - 42.3
October '21 - 42.6
November '21 - 41.0
December '21 - 34.0
January '22 - 40.1
February '22 - 39.6
March '22 - 39.6
April '22 - 39.6
 
The average cost per closed loan unit our members paid for their loan origination system (LOS) rose slightly to $131 in April. The average cost per closed loan unit for our members' point-of-sale (POS) system was up $2 to $62 in April and came in flat month-over-month at $89 for their CRM.
 
Average non-third party lender fees continue to trend slightly upward on conventional loans, coming in at $1,148. Government lender fees rose from $1,062 to $1,108 for this most recent month.
 
55% of this month's participants in TMC Benchmark were depositories, and 45% were IMBs. 39% originate under $500M a year in annual volume, 25% originate between $500M-$1B, and 36% originate over $1 billion per year in annual production.
 
Rich Swerbinsky
President & Chief Operating Officer
The Mortgage Collaborative

Top Headlines
Fannie Mae to Award $5MM to Companies Advancing Racial Equity in Housing
Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight Weekly Market Update - 5/17
MeridianLink User Forum Recap
Fannie Mae: Increased Risk of Recession Sooner Than Later
Sales Boomerang Co-Founders Recognized as EY 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year Mid-Atlantic Finalists
iEmergent Feature: How One Company is Boosting Homeownership
Certified Credit Releases New Automated Prequalification Solution: Cascade Prequal
StoicLane Acquires Triserv Appraisal Management Solutions

Blogs
Snapdocs White Paper: State of Digital Mortgage Closings
Arch MI Capital Commentary: Making Homeownership Affordable
SalesBoomerang eBook: Get Loans Now
Planet Financial Group (Planet Home Lending) Pledges $100K to Reduce Hunger & Offset Carbon Emissions
iEmergent April/May 2022 New Release Functionality
Check Out the Inagural SimpleNexus Mini Mag for the Scoop on Digital Mortgage Innovation
Verity Global Solutions: Generational Home Buying is Trending Toward Doing Online Business

Media
(Video) CMBA Connect with Total Expert Director of Partnerships & Industry Technology, Josh Lehr
(Podcast) Arch MI PolicyCast: Unlocking the Mysteries of NextGen Homebuyers with Experience.com's Kristin Messerli
(Podcast) Lykken on Lending Hot Topic: TMC Co-Founder, David Kittle: How to Make Tough Decisions in a Contracting Market
(Podcast) The Walk with Eric Levin: Learning From the Past Means Managing Toward the Future, featuring AnnieMac Home Mortgage President, Ryan Kube

Events
ActiveComply Webinar 06/24 12 pm EST: Using Social Media to Increase Purchase Business While Staying Compliant 
5/25 2PM EST #TMCSuccessStories - How FinLocker Helps PRMG’s Loan Officers Save Time Preparing Their Not Quite Ready Borrowers to get Mortgage Ready​

Hat-tip to our partners at OptiFunder for sharing Mortgage Executive Magazine’s 2022 list top mortgage companies to work for. This ranking was based on the votes of mortgage originators across the country, which included OptiFunder clients & TMC members: #42 NOVA Home Loans, #48 NJ Lenders, #64 Atlantic Coast Mortgage, #72 VanDyk Mortgage and #96 Victorian Finance.

But even more TMC members were recognized! A grand total of 36 TMC members including:
#10 New American Funding
#13 Planet Home Lending
#14 American Pacific Mortgage
#16 PrimeLending
#20 Academy Mortgage
#21 Prosperity Home Mortgage
#35 Pulte Mortgage
#36 Celebrity Home Loans
#37 FBC Mortgage
#40 Atlantic Bay Mortgage
#53 AnnieMac Home Loans
#54 George Mason Mortgage
#55 V.I.P. Mortgage
#56 Nations Lending
#59 Waterstone Mortgage
#61 LeaderOne Financial
#62 AmeriFirst Financial
#69 FirstBank
#74 Family First Funding
#76 JMAC Lending
#78 Mountain West Financial
#79 Inlanta Mortgage
#80 Mason-McDuffie Mortgage
#81 Independent Bank
#82 Alterra Home Loans
#83 Wallick & Volk
#84 Certainty Home Loans
#85 Megastar Financial
#87 Apex Home Loans
#89 Castle & Cooke Mortgage
#98 LoanPeople
​
Join us in congratulating each TMC lender member recognized!

Earlier this week, the Biden administration released a "Housing Supply Action Plan" that strives to produce more housing supply (for buyers and renters), including affordable units, in the next five years.

There's a lot to it, and the full proposal can be found here. Some of it is pie in the sky (lots of asks of Congress), and some of it will be immediately implemented. The Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Home Builders have offered their support.

Since the full plan was 19 pages long when I printed it, I put together a synopsis of it that cuts to most of the more relevant points for our 280 mortgage lending institution members nationally.

Here's the TLDR for mortgage lenders that find even my synopsis too long:

Get your Fannie and Freddie approval if you don't have them. Learn what an ADU is. Educate your leaders and staff on manufactured housing lending. And construction lending is going to be a much bigger piece of the mortgage loan pie these next couple of years. The word "construction" was used 44 times in the plan.

Big Brother is going to incent state and local governments to rezone land (allowing for more small homes) by Dangling DOT Dollars.

Department of Transportation (DOT) grant money applications from jurisdictions that allow greater housing density in zoning and land use policy will be rewarded with higher scores in the grant process, making it much more likely they'll get DOT dough.

Fannie and Freddie are going to start buying lots of manufactured homes and ADU's.

The majority of people buying new manufactured homes rely on personal property financing (chattel lending) rather than conventional mortgages. Freddie Mac is working on a "feasibility assessment" for the requirements and processes necessary to support loan purchases of personal property manufactured housing loans. If FHFA approval is obtained, Freddie Mac will purchase chattel loans to make buying those homes more affordable for Americans.

A new mortgage industry acronym! YES! ADU's – Accessory Dwelling Units. Think garage apartments, backyard homes, and in-law suites built on the land of an existing home. A number of state and local jurisdictions have changed zoning laws to allow them to help the affordable housing issue. Big Brother now wants to do its part by making it cheaper to buy them by having FHA and FHFA explore avenues to help lenders pilot and scale renovation and construction financing programs for ADU's.

FHA and HUD are going to limit institutional investors from buying homes they hold. (How was this not happening already!)

The Biden Administration's plan targets large-scale investors buying up single-family homes in low-income neighborhoods. FHA will make foreclosed REO properties available to owner-occupants and non-profits for 30 days before opening them to all bidders. And that they'll look to the direct supply of homes they own/manage to owner-occupied or non-profits that will rehab them. HUD will do the same for vacant properties it holds.

Homebuilders – we're from the government, and we're here to help with your supply and land issues.

The administration's plan says it will work with private sector companies to improve supply chain issues that hamper construction, with the goal of finishing construction on more new homes this year than in any year since 2006.

According to the plan, Fannie and Freddie Mac are working to offer forward commitment programs that would allow developers to secure financing to pay off a construction loan upon completion of construction and when the housing project has been approved for occupancy. This would help builders build homes quicker.

Fannie is also looking into the possibility of purchasing single close-Construction-to-Permanent multifamily loans, which would also foster more housing production and better supply in theory.

USDA has a construction to permanent program? 

Evidently! In the months ahead, USDA will educate lenders on the benefits of the program in order to improve program utilization, increase new construction in rural areas, and address obstacles that may be limiting the use of the program.

"Congress, we need your help on these issues." Translation – don't hold your breath on any of this stuff.

In the plan, the administration urged lawmakers to pass President Biden's Unlocking Possibilities Program, which was passed last year by the House and would establish a new $1.75 billion grant program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Biden's $1.75 trillion Build Back Better spending plan proposed $150 billion for the construction and rehab of more than 1 million affordably priced rental units and single-family homes. The plan died in Congress in December, and now it pleads for passage.

The White House also urged lawmakers to pass Biden's 2023 budget request, which includes a proposal for $10 billion in HUD grants to increase accessibility to affordable housing and subsidies to strengthen the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

The plan also asks Congress to pass a number of bills that would build the pipeline of home construction workers through comprehensive immigration reform and the creation of apprenticeship programs.

Rich Swerbinsky
President & Chief Operating Officer
The Mortgage Collaborative