Rates tick back up but purchase demand stays strong

☀️ Good morning and welcome back! This is Mortgage Nuggets, your mortgage news tour guide. Keeping you updated every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

1. Rates tick back up but purchase demand stays strong

The 30-year fixed rate edged up to 6.37% last week, sending refi apps down 4%. But purchase applications rose 1% for the week and are now 21% above year-ago levels — as more inventory hits the market and buyers appear to be getting used to the Iran war uncertainty.

All eyes are on Powell's press conference Wednesday at what could be his final Fed meeting as chair. No rate change is expected, but his commentary could move mortgage rates in either direction.

2. Former Rocket Pro exec Mike Fawaz is launching a broker platform — with UWM as a partner

Mike Fawaz, who left Rocket Pro in February, is launching Origna8.com in May — a broker platform offering technology, marketing, recruiting, leads, and lender partnerships under one roof. Former Rocket Pro general manager Dan Sogorka, who departed in January, will serve as CEO.

The headline twist: Fawaz is partnering with UWM — the same company he repeatedly attacked during his Rocket tenure, calling Mat Ishbia a "playground bully" and helping launch Rocket's "Bully Shield" initiative. Fawaz says his perspective shifted after stepping outside Rocket and taking an unbiased look at UWM's broker-focused model.

The platform won't work with multichannel lenders — meaning Rocket is out. "I want to partner with lenders that are all in for the broker community," Fawaz said. Ishbia echoed that stance, reaffirming his position that brokers don't work with both UWM and Rocket.

3. More Nuggets

⚖️ What the OpenAI trial means for mortgage lenders. (NMP)

🏡 Case-Shiller: Home price growth remained slow in February. (HousingWire)

📊 US consumer confidence edged up again in April. (Reuters)

💵 CrossCountry raises bid for Two Harbors after rival offer from UWM. (Titan)

4. Washington is pushing banks to collect citizenship data — and lenders could feel it downstream

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said an executive order requiring banks to collect citizenship data from customers is "in process," and Sen. Tom Cotton has introduced the Know Your American Customer Act, which would require banks and credit unions to verify legal status at account opening. Neither has taken effect yet.

Current KYC rules require identity verification — not citizenship or immigration status.

If that changes, the direct impact falls on banking, not mortgage underwriting. But because mortgage qualification depends on verified bank accounts for assets and reserves, any friction at account opening could slow borrower readiness — especially for foreign-national, ITIN, and asset-based borrowers.

5. HUD rescinds FHA, USDA energy efficiency rule

HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced Tuesday that the agency is rolling back a 2024 rule that made new homes ineligible for FHA or USDA mortgages unless they met the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code standards.

Turner said the rule was adding $20,000 to $31,000 per single-family project in upfront costs — and that the Biden administration's claim that those costs would be recovered over time ignored a payback period that could stretch 90 years.

The rollback applies to new construction and returns FHA and USDA programs to the energy standards in place before the 2024 rule. The move aligns with a recent federal court ruling in Texas that found the rule would reduce housing availability.

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

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