Foreclosures jump 21% in first half of the year

📬 Your Friday mortgage roundup is here.

Today’s edition is 699 words, a 2.5-minutes read. Let’s dive in…

1. CHLA says direct lender payments are the only way to make small mortgages work

The Community Home Lenders of America is pushing FHA to use direct payments to lenders as the primary tool in its new small-dollar mortgage pilot program, authorized under the ROAD to Housing Act.

The argument is straightforward: lenders lose money on mortgages below $100,000 because fixed origination costs eat up the revenue. Borrower subsidies won't fix that problem — only paying lenders directly will.

CHLA says FHA has the financial capacity to do it — each FHA loan currently generates a 3.14% negative credit subsidy, meaning the agency could offer combined lender and borrower payments of up to 3% of the loan amount and still remain profitable.

2. Foreclosures jump 21% in first half of the year

Foreclosure activity kept climbing in the first half of 2026, with 227,548 properties entering the process, up 21% year over year, according to ATTOM.

Nationwide, one in every 632 housing units had a filing. Foreclosure starts rose 18% to 164,566 properties, and bank repossessions (REOs) jumped 33% to 27,983.

• Florida had the nation's worst foreclosure rate in June, at one filing per 2,106 housing units, followed by South Carolina (1 in 2,374), Indiana (1 in 2,377), Nevada (1 in 2,508), and Illinois (1 in 2,624).

Properties also completed the foreclosure process faster — averaging 563 days, the shortest timeline since 2013 — a sign delinquent loans are moving through the pipeline more quickly.

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3. More Nuggets

👴 Fairway Home Mortgage launches nonprofit to fight financial fraud targeting seniors. (Cision)

🚀 Point closes $508.6M HEI securitization, largest to date. (HousingWire)

🤖 Carrington partners with Kastle to deploy AI agents for loan servicing and collections. (BusinessWire)

4. Brokers First Funding launches first- and second-lien Non-QM HELOC

Wholesale lender Brokers First Funding (BFF) has launched a new Non-QM HELOC program aimed at self-employed borrowers, real estate investors, and others with nontraditional income.

• The program offers both first- and second-lien credit lines from $100,000 to $1 million — with the first-lien option also serving homeowners who own their homes outright.

Borrowers can qualify using bank statements, CPA-prepared profit-and-loss statements, or debt-service coverage ratios instead of traditional income documentation. The program covers primary residences, second homes, and investment properties, with loan-to-value ratios up to 90% for eligible borrowers.

5. loanDepot asks judge to throw out West Capital Lending's TILA lawsuit

loanDepot is pushing back hard, arguing West Capital Lending has no standing to sue under TILA because the loan originator compensation rule was designed to protect borrowers — not competing lenders. It's also calling out WCL for failing to identify a single customer it actually lost to loanDepot's alleged pricing practices.

WCL has already dropped its request for monetary damages and is now seeking only injunctive relief, which loanDepot says it can't get either — because the declarations it relies on come from former employees describing past practices, not ongoing conduct.

The two companies are also fighting a separate lawsuit in which loanDepot accuses WCL of poaching 178 loan officers and misappropriating trade secrets. That case is still pending.

☀️ You’re all caught up. See you on Monday!

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