Lower acquires real estate portal Movoto

Plus: Highest paid occupations in construction according to NAHB

May 14, 2025

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Disclaimer: Average mortgage rates as of May 13, 2025. © MND Daily Rate Index.

1.  Lower acquires real estate portal Movoto

Mortgage lender Lower has acquired real estate portal Movoto from OJO Labs, aiming to build a fully integrated home-buying experience. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

  • The move gives Lower access to Movoto’s 150 million annual site visits and network of local agents. These agents will now be paired with Lower’s 478 loan officers across 76 branches.

Movoto CEO John Berkowitz will join Lower as president of real estate. He’ll work alongside Adam Wiener, a Redfin veteran who became Lower’s president earlier this year. The combined firm will employ over 1,000 people with offices in Columbus, OH and Austin, TX. Movoto will be rebranded under the Lower name.

2. Appraisal Institute rocked by NYT exposé, lawsuits by former execs

The Appraisal Institute is facing lawsuits over sexual harassment and flawed certification exams. Multiple women have accused VP Craig Steinley of inappropriate conduct, including groping. He denies all allegations but has since stepped down.

Former CEO Cindy Chance and ex-director Alissa Akins claim they were fired for exposing misconduct and test score errors. One woman received a $412K settlement. A review found 17% of exams misgraded, possibly certifying unqualified appraisers.

“There is a culture of sexual harassment, cronyism and good old boys,” said Sandra Winter, a former board member who launched a petition demanding answers. Concerns about Steinley’s behavior have circulated for over a decade, with past complaints reportedly ignored by industry leaders.

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3. More Nuggets

💳 PRMG and Mesa collaborate on a co-branded credit card. (HousingWire)

💸 Highest paid occupations in construction in 2024. (NAHB)

🏦 Bank of America to open 150 locations through 2027. (BankingDive)

📝 MBA urges overhaul of mortgage rules in letter to OMB. (MBA)

🧬 A gene mutation lets you function perfectly on 4 hours of sleep. (PopMech)

4. CFPB rescinds dozens of policies

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau withdrew dozens of pieces of prior guidance Monday, according to a document published to the Federal Register on Friday.

The 67 rescinded items include guidance regarding fair lending, overdraft fees, buy now, pay later firms, earned wage access programs and more, in alignment with an internal memo Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta sent last month.

“The Bureau is committed to issuing guidance only where that guidance is necessary and would reduce compliance burdens rather than increase them. Historically, the Bureau has released guidance without adequate regard for whether it would increase or decrease compliance burdens and costs. Our policy has changed,” CFPB Acting Director Russ Vought wrote Monday.

5. Weekly mortgage demand continues recovery trend

Mortgage interest rates inched higher this week, but homebuyer activity continued to show signs of resilience. According to the MBA, total mortgage application volume rose modestly by 1.1%.

  • The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances increased slightly to 6.86% from 6.84%.

  • Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home rose 2% for the week and were 18% higher than the same week one year ago.

  • Applications to refinance a home loan fell 0.4% for the week but were still 44% higher than the same week one year ago. The refinance share of activity slipped to 36.4% of total applications from 37.1% the previous week.

“The news for the week was the growth in purchase applications,” said Michael Fratantoni, chief economist at the MBA. “Despite the economic uncertainty, the increase in home inventory means there are additional properties to buy, unlike the last two years, and this supply is supporting more transactions.”

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

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