Category: Optimal Blue
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October Mortgage Lock Data Shows Resilience and Cracks in the Mortgage Market as Interest Rates Tick up 65 Basis Points
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today released its October 2024 Market Advantage mortgage data report, highlighting resilient purchase activity in the face of rising interest rates and affordability challenges. Despite a 65-basis-point (bps) increase in the Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year conforming rate, purchase lock volume grew by 12% month over month (MoM),…
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Optimal Blue Promotes Industry Experts to New Executive Roles to Accelerate Innovation and Prioritize Partnerships
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today announced two key executive promotions that will position the company to deliver innovation faster across the company’s entire capital markets platform, and to further expand the company’s network of partners. Erin Wester has been promoted to chief product officer and Mike Vough has been promoted to head of corporate…
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Optimal Blue Announces Three Major Product Releases, Continuing Streak of Aggressive Product Innovation and No-Cost Feature Additions
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today announced three major product releases: the expansion of its AI assistant suite, the introduction of Scenario Optimizer, and the free availability of Investor Pricing Insight to investor clients. These product updates build on the company’s commitment to rapidly delivering high-impact solutions that tackle real-world challenges while helping clients maximize…
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Rate-and-Term Refinance Locks Surge 700% Over Previous Year Following the FOMC’s September Interest Rate Reduction
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today released its September 2024 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which found a 50% month-over-month (MoM) increase in rate-and-term refinance activity as people who purchased homes in recent years jumped at the opportunity to lower their interest rates and mortgage payments. While the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered its…
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Optimal Blue Expands Expertise, Market Leadership With Launch of Two In-House Podcasts
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue announced the release of two in-house podcasts that extend the reach of the company’s capital markets experience and expertise built over its decades as the technology leader in its space. The Optimal Insights podcast and video, which will be released weekly, will provide timely analyses of market factors impacting loan…
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Optimal Blue Rolls Out Innovations in New UI, Gen AI, Originator Capabilities and New No-Cost Solutions
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today announced its extensive plans for innovation across its complete capital markets technology ecosystem leading up to its Optimal Blue Summit, where innovations will be unveiled live. New capabilities will be introduced into the core platform beginning in mid-September and continuing through the Optimal Blue Summit, a national user conference…
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Rate-and-Term Refinances Surge 109% MoM in August as Mortgage Rates Decline
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today released its August 2024 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which reveals an overall 1% rise in rate lock volume despite the typical seasonal slowdown in purchase lending. Lock volume growth was driven by a surge in refinance activity as homeowners reacted to declining mortgage rates.
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Optimal Blue to Host Inaugural Industry Summit February 3-5, 2025
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today announced it will host its inaugural Optimal Blue Summit from February 3-5, 2025, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina. Set against the scenic backdrop of San Diego Bay, the Optimal Blue Summit 2025 will bring together clients from across primary and secondary mortgage networks to connect, learn, and…
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July Refinance Activity Hits Highest Levels Since September 2022
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today released its July 2024 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which revealed that mortgage refinance demand surged to levels not seen since September 2022 amid softening interest rates. The lower interest rates seen in July also coaxed increased purchase activity, which, combined with greater refi activity, drove a 3.5% month-over-month…
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Optimal Blue Launches New Generative AI Assistant Capabilities
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today announced the delivery of generative AI capabilities centered on helping lenders maximize profitability on every loan transaction. Through direct engagement with its thousands of clients, the company has begun delivering generative AI capabilities built for secondary-market-specific use cases and purposefully designed to solve the real-world challenges that mortgage lenders…