Home sales surged 7% in July

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1. Mortgage application fraud risk rose 9.1% in Q2

Mortgage application fraud risk rose 9.1% from Q1 to 132 in the second quarter, according to Cotality — roughly one in 119 applications showing signs of risk. The increase came as purchase loans took a larger share of applications, while elevated rates kept refinance activity subdued.

Purchase loans accounted for 72% of all applications, up from 59% in Q1. Undisclosed real estate was the fastest-growing fraud category, up 2.6% year over year, while transaction-, property-, and occupancy-related alerts also rose.

Investment and multifamily properties remain the highest-risk segments: about one in 44 investment-property applications and one in 27 multifamily applications showed fraud indicators, compared with one in 119 overall.

2. Lower launches 1%-down mortgage with $4,500 grant cap

Lower launched ONE by Lower, a conventional mortgage that lets qualifying first-time and repeat buyers contribute as little as 1% toward a home purchase, with a lender-funded grant covering another 2%.

• The $4,500 grant cap means borrowers purchasing homes above $225,000 will generally need to contribute more than 1%, unless they tap other eligible funds. The grant doesn't need to be repaid and doesn't create a second lien.

The program applies to conventional financing on single-unit primary residences and requires a minimum 620 credit score, an 80% AMI income limit, and a $375,000 maximum loan amount. It's available in all states except New York, Vermont, and Hawaii.

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3. More Nuggets

🚫 Nearly half of older Boomers are buying homes without a mortgage. (NAR)

🚀 Longbridge originations rise 38% as Ellington reports a $54.4M profit. (Ellington)

🤝 Beeline moves to acquire blockchain home equity company TYTL. (BusinessInsider)

4. Achieve closes $261.5M HELOC securitization ahead of TPO launch

Achieve closed a $261.5 million securitization backed by 3,129 fixed-rate HELOCs — its first of 2026 and ninth overall — as it prepares to begin purchasing home equity loans from correspondent lenders in the third quarter. The July 30 deal brings Achieve's cumulative HELOC issuance to more than $1.7 billion.

The company plans to offer its HELOC product, underwriting infrastructure, and capital-markets capabilities to independent mortgage banks and correspondent lenders through Achieve Pro, giving mortgage companies a way to provide home equity products without building their own infrastructure.

The portfolio carried a $261.5 million unpaid principal balance, $276.5 million in total credit lines, and a 65.67% weighted-average combined LTV.

Ahead of the TPO launch, Achieve also raised its maximum HELOC amount to $700,000, increased its maximum CLTV to 90%, and raised its maximum DTI to 50%.

5. Home sales surged 7% in July

Home sales climbed 7% year over year in July, the strongest annual increase of 2026. Newly pending sales, a leading indicator of future closings, edged up just 0.3% from a year earlier and fell 7.7% from June, according to Zillow.

The typical monthly mortgage payment was 0.9% lower than a year ago. The typical home value reached $371,757, up 1.1% year over year, while active listings grew 1.5% and new listings jumped 3.1%.

The median property went pending in 25 days, five days longer than a year ago. Meanwhile, rents rose 2.3% to $1,962, though nearly 40% of rental listings offered concessions.

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