The National Association of Mortgage brokers is launching NAMB All-In, an open platform that will be available to members at no cost. It’s slated to go live on Jan. 1, 2019.

“We are thrilled to announce this new tool and are eager to watch our members gravitate to NAMB All-In to take advantage of the opportunity for this new solution to enhance their workflows and make their operations seamless,” said Richard Bettencourt, president of NAMB. “We chose Calyx as our partner because its solutions are well-accepted by the broker community and easy to use.”

Powered by Calyx Software, which offers comprehensive mortgage software solutions, NAMB All-In provides mortgage professionals with the three-essential components they need to conduct business: a point-of-sale solution, a cloud-based loan origination system, and a single point of access to premier wholesale lenders.

[caption id="attachment_8369" align="alignleft" width="287"] NAMB AIl-In ensures a seamless exchange of  transaction data.[/caption]

The POS allows borrowers to initiate a loan application and begin the asset verification process. The LOS helps mortgage brokers manage all incoming online applications, exchange and store documents, and provides simultaneous support for both the current and upcoming Uniform Residential Loan Application.

The Calyx Wholesaler MarketPlace is the third component of NAMB All-In. It enables mortgage brokers to connect with industry-leading wholesale lenders in a single portal and seamlessly exchange data. Using this portal, wholesaler lenders can import 1003 and deliver completed documents, such as the loan estimate, closing disclosure, conditions, locks and more, directly into the broker’s software.

Participating wholesale a lenders are Stearns Lending, Plaza Home Mortgage, Quicken Loans, Freedom Mortgage, Caliber Home Loans, and United Wholesale Mortgage. Additional lenders plan to begin participating in early next year.

In addition, because NAMB believes in an open market that allows brokers to choose which lenders they want to do business with, brokers can still export a Fannie Mae 3.2 file to work with any wholesaler that is not in the network.

“Calyx is committed to making the mortgage process easier for everyone: brokers, wholesalers and borrowers,” said Bob Dougherty, executive vice president of business development at Calyx. “We are pleased to work with NAMB to provide their members with a solution that will not only simplify and speed up the origination process for them and the wholesalers they work with, but also improve the borrower experience.”

Despite the cross currents of rising interest rates and home prices, first-time homebuyers have outperformed the broader market.

They recorded their best first nine months in 13 years and showed the current housing cycle's fundamentals remain strong despite a broader slowdown in activity, according to the First-Time Homebuyer Market Report from Genworth Mortgage Insurance.

At the same time, first-time homebuyers are not immune to declining affordability, and the market has declined in 19 states. First-time homebuyers adjusted to declining affordability by buying cheaper homes,” said Tian Liu, chief economist at Genworth Mortgage Insurance.  New homes between $200,000 and $300,000, where there are more first-time buyers, saw a 15 percent increase, while those priced between $300,000 and $750,000, where there are more repeat buyers, saw declines ranging from 3 percent to 12 percent.

Additional highlights from the survey are as follows:

• Single-family home purchases increase
  • 3Q'18: 582,000 single-family homes were purchased – a one percent year-over-year increase.
  • 9M'18: 1,580,000 single-family homes were purchased – the most during the first nine months of a year since 2005.
  • Larger Share: First-time homebuyers accounted for 40 percent of single-family homes sold and 55 percent of purchase mortgages originated, both higher than a year ago.
  • Diverging Trends Across States: Unlike the 2014-17 period when almost all states reported more first-time homebuyer activities, only two-thirds of states reported growth in Q3
• Lower housing affordability: Monthly mortgage payments for first-time homebuyers increased by 15 percent year-over-year from higher interest rates (up eight percent more) and higher home prices (up over six percent).
• Homebuyers Favoring Lower-Priced Homes: Prices for the most expensive 40 percent of homes bought by first-time homebuyers declined for the first-time since 2013-14.
• Sales of Affordable New Homes Grew: New homes priced between $200,000 and $300,000 were one of the few price segments to show year-over-year growth, up by 15 percent, while demand for homes priced between $300,000 and $750,000 decreased by five percent.
• PMI Most-Sold Product: 202,000 homebuyers used conventional mortgages with private mortgage insurance to finance their first home purchase, a 17 percent year-over-year increase. For two consecutive quarters conventional loans with mortgage insurance were the single-largest source of credit for first-time homebuyers.
• Low Down Payments Still Preferred: 463,000 (80 percent) of homebuyers used low down payment mortgages to finance their first home purchase.
• Young Homeowner Demand Grows: Homeownership rates for households under 35 years of age increased by 1.2 percent during the third quarter.

Floify’s platform is now available for use with Ellie Mae’s Encompass digital mortgage solution. The integration provides lenders with access to Encompass directly through Floify, with the aim of driving loan origination efficiency.

By using the Encompass integration with Floify, loan originators can process borrower loan applications, securely send and receive supporting documentation, automatically deploy status updates and reminders via email and SMS, and more, from a single, intuitive user interface.

Ellie Mae is a leading provider of innovative on-demand software solutions and services for the residential mortgage industry. Ellie Mae’s Encompass digital mortgage solution provides one system of record that enables banks, credit unions and mortgage lenders to originate and fund mortgages and improve compliance, loan quality and efficiency.

“Floify is delighted to partner with Ellie Mae,” said Dave Sims, CEO of Floify. “Our secure, seamless integration with Encompass enables our clients to simplify the process of using their favorite LOS with Floify, so they can more efficiently process mortgage loans and grow their business. We look forward to a long, successful relationship with Ellie Mae.”