Good for mortgages, bad for the food shop - how inflation dip affects you
Walk around your local supermarket and you'll struggle to find much that's healthy for your finances on the shelves - food price rises are accelerating. The cost of the weekly shop is, and will continue to be, a worry for millions of people. Beyond just food, prices of goods and services in general are going up, but the rate of those price rises has slowed. And that is likely to bring better news for the cost of borrowing, in particular mortgage rates for homeowners and first-time buyers.
|
Is a 50-year mortgage really that much crazier than a 30-year one?
Last week, President Trump caused a media frenzy after he floated the idea that the government should back the creation of a 50-year fixed mortgage. Many commenters, including some of Trump's own supporters, hated the idea. They complained that it would result in Americans being in debt for their entire adult lives, essentially renting from a bank.
|
Major lenders hit with lawsuit over alleged predatory lending practices
The suit names Delta Funding Corporation, Wells Fargo Bank, PHH Mortgage, and Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, along with mortgage brokers McGlawn & McGlawn, Inc. and McGlawn Mortgage Co., Inc. The borrowers claim they were never told about variable interest rates, hidden penalties, or mounting fees. They also allege that the brokers misrepresented their relationship with Delta Funding and failed to explain the true cost of the loan.
|
Appellate court denies title agent liability shield in insurance payout case
On November 19, 2025, the Court of Appeal for Louisiana's Second Circuit issued a decision that leaves title agents and underwriters grappling with an uncomfortable reality. Just because an insurance company settles a claim does not necessarily mean the title agent who caused the problem gets off the hook.
|
Refinance fraud and forgery claims soar, driving up title insurance losses
Fraud and forgery claims tied to mortgage refinances have surged, now representing over 40% of all title insurer losses and expenses, according to a new Milliman Inc. study commissioned by the American Land Title Association (ALTA). The report, which analyzed nearly 162,000 claims from 2014 to 2023 and covered more than 90% of the industry's annual premium volume, found that the average cost of fraud and forgery claims on refinances has climbed to $207,000. That's almost seven times higher than other claim types.
|
Housing numbers point to an unusually strong buyer's market. There's a catch.
This is the strongest buyer's market in housing in more than a decade. That's the headline on a new report from Redfin, a real estate brokerage owned by Rocket Cos. The report points to specific data on the supply of homes for sale and the number of buyers actively looking. There were an estimated 36.8% more sellers than buyers in October, according to Redfin, the largest gap in records dating back to 2013.
|
More than half of U.S. homes have dropped in value over the last year
The share of U.S. homes that have lost value in the past year is the highest since the aftermath of the Great Recession, according to Zillow. In October, 53% of homes saw their "Zestimates" decline, the most since 2012 and up from just 16% a year earlier. Losses were most widespread in the West and South.
|