CEO also discusses refinancing opportunities and housing market shifts
Mat Ishbia, president and CEO of United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), addressed rising credit report costs, refinancing resilience, and shifts in housing inventory during his latest "3Points" update.
Ishbia emphasized three key areas impacting mortgage professionals: escalating credit report costs, resilient refinancing demand, and changing housing inventory dynamics.
“I do not see an end in sight”
First up is the FICO credit score price hike. Fair ISAC Corp (FICO) announced a 40% increase in wholesale royalty costs for 2025
“Credit report costs going up again, this is not the first time this has happened,” Ishbia said. “They were much cheaper a couple of years ago.”
Unlike title and appraisal costs, which have seen reductions, credit report fees continue to go up. He urged brokers to rethink their approach.
“What that means is you and a lot of borrowers are being charged upfront for it,” Ishbia added. “How often you are using soft pulls or single-bureau reports? What are the ways you can continue to save costs because this expense gets your bottom line, and if you're pulling out a lot of credit reports, you're obviously doing a lot of loans. You’ve got to close a high percentage of them to make it all make sense.
“I do not see an end in sight for this right now. So, make sure you understand that understand the new world that we live in and continue to dominate even with higher credit report costs.”
Refinance resiliency
Refinancing activity remains top of mind for borrowers, even in a high-rate environment. Ishbia cited a recent TransUnion survey revealing that 80% of respondents plan to refinance within the next 12 months, primarily seeking modest rate reductions.
“Mortgage refinancing appears to be a near tipping point as a lot of recent home buyers are looking to refinance to help reduce the strain on their finances,” he said.
Borrowers are refinancing even if rates drop by as little as 50 to 75 basis points, Ishbia explained. For example, someone with a 7.5% rate looking to refinance to 7% sees that as an opportunity to save money. Ishbia encouraged brokers to proactively engage borrowers and highlight these opportunities, even if rates don't dramatically drop to historical lows.
“Make sure you're understanding that and taking advantage of it,” he said.
Fewer new builds but more homes
Single-family home construction may be slowing, but the housing market is seeing increased inventory. Building permits have dropped 7.7% year over year, and housing starts are down 4%, reflecting a construction slowdown.
However, the available housing supply is growing, with 953,000 homes now on the market – more than double the inventory from a few years ago.
Read more: UWM EVP: Expect rate cuts and a busier market in 2025
“It's not as negative as everyone likes to talk about,” Ishbia said. “There's a lot of houses out there, and now rates dropping a little bit. There's an opportunity where there's affordability.
“More people are selling their houses, and that's why we see inventory continue to go up, so yes, a few fewer houses are being built. But there's more inventory, more houses to sell, more houses for people to buy, and that's out there right now.”
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