Rocket Mortgage faces class-action lawsuit

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1. Rocket Mortgage faces class-action lawsuit

Rocket Mortgage is facing a class-action lawsuit for alleged violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by making repeated, unsolicited calls.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, centers on claims by Arizona resident Kellie Deits, who received over 27 calls from Rocket Mortgage within ten days, despite requesting not to be contacted.

The lawsuit aims to represent all residential telephone subscribers who received more than one telemarketing call within a 12-month period from Rocket Mortgage within five years after requesting the lender not call them.

The size of the class-action suit is believed to be substantial, reflecting Rocket's nationwide business scope. Rocket, however, has dismissed the lawsuit as baseless, citing their commitment to client service and a strong track record of compliance.

2. Homebuilder sentiment drops to lowest this year

Homebuilder sentiment fell to the lowest level this year in November as high mortgage rates kept a lid on housing demand. The NAHB/Wells Fargo gauge decreased six points to 34 this month, according to data released Thursday.

• High mortgage rates have pummeled the housing market this year, worsening an affordability crisis that’s pushed out many prospective buyers. However, Treasuries have rallied in recent weeks on speculation that the Fed is done raising interest rates, which has caused borrowing costs to retreat somewhat.

While the recent decline in financing costs has been welcomed by buyers and builders, developers are still extending a variety of sales incentives. Some 36% of builders reported cutting prices in November, the highest level in a year.

3. Catch up quick

✍️ Mortgage Bankers Association stern response to Bloomberg story, “US Veterans Got a Mortgage Break. Now They’re Losing Their Homes,”. (Bloomberg)

📚 A deep dive into single women homebuyers—an expanding share of borrowers who now transact almost a fourth of home loans. (Maxwell)

📌 Mark Willis is Keller Williams’ new CEO, according to an announcement on Wednesday. Willis’ first KW CEO tenure was from 2005 to 2015, and he returned to the company in July as a strategic consultant. (Business Wire)

⏳ Citizens Bank, the 28th largest U.S. mortgage lender, has decided to close its wholesale channel, which produced over $1 billion in volume in the first half of this year. (Yahoo Finance)

🏡 Fannie Mae is extending its Rent Payment pilot that aims to help residents establish or build their credit scores by sharing timely rent payment data. (Fannie Mae)

🔬 Freddie Mac will test a new fee-based repurchase alternative program for performing loans in 2024, designed to improve the quality of performing loans through a potential replacement of its current repurchase policy for defective performing loans. (Freddie Mac)

4. Mortgage applications reach five-week high

Mortgage applications increased last week as mortgage interest rates continued to fall from their highest level in 23 years, according to a report by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, rose 2.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Nov. 10, compared to the previous week. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 0.4%.

• Applications to refinance a home loan increased 2% for the week and were 7% higher than the same week one year ago.

• Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home increased 3% from the previous week and were 12% lower than the same week a year ago.

• The FHA share of total applications decreased to 14.4 percent from 14.7 percent the week prior. The VA share of total applications increased to 11.2 percent from 10.5 percent the week prior.

• Loan sizes increased slightly, ending a four-week slide. The average loan size was $355,700 compared to $353,600 and purchase loans averaged $406,600, $1,400 higher than the previous week.

5. Jobless claims climb to three-month high of 231,000 in sign labor market is cooling

Layoffs appear to be creeping up and the unemployed can't find jobs as quickly

The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week jumped to a three-month high of 231,000, suggesting some softening around the edges of a strong U.S. labor market.

New jobless claims climbed 13,000 from a revised 218,000 in the prior week, the government said.

Claims still show a very low number of job losses and indicate the economy is stable, but businesses are hiring less and the labor market appears to have cooled off a bit.

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💬 Quoted: Author Karl Ove Knausgard on being fully immersed in life:

"What makes life worth living? No child asks itself that question. To children life is self-evident. Life goes without saying: whether it is good or bad makes no difference. This is because children don't see the world, don't observe the world, don't contemplate the world, but are so deeply immersed in the world that they don't distinguish between it and their own selves."

Source: James Clear 3-2-1