DepthPR
Optimal Blue report: Rate rally drives 28% surge in September lock volumes
PLANO, Texas — Optimal Blue today released its September 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, which showed a sharp increase in rate-lock activity as mortgage rates fell throughout the month to their lowest levels in nearly a year. Total lock volume rose 28% month over month (MoM), led by a surge in refinance lending as borrowers seized on the opportunity to lower monthly payments. Purchases also climbed 6% MoM, outperforming typical seasonal trends as improved affordability brought more buyers into the market….
Argyle expands income verification with AIM Check integrated Doc VOI
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — Argyle, the leading provider of direct-source income, employment and asset verifications, today announced the launch of Doc VOI, a new paystub and W-2 based income verification report integrated with Freddie Mac’s AIM Check API. Lenders are cutting costs and gaining fast, automated income verifications from uploaded paystubs and W-2s when direct payroll or banking connections are not available….
Floify launches Dynamic AI: embedded intelligence that elevates the mortgage POS experience
BOULDER, Colo. — Floify, the mortgage industry’s leading point-of-sale (POS) solution, today announced the launch of Dynamic AI, a new capability that reimagines the mortgage application process by moving document collection and AI-driven data extraction to the very beginning of the process….
ALCOVA Mortgage partners with Down Payment Resource to expand access to homeownership
ATLANTA, Ga. — Down Payment Resource (DPR), the housing industry’s leading technology for connecting homebuyers with homebuyer assistance programs, announced today that it has partnered with ALCOVA Mortgage to expand access to down payment assistance (DPA) programs for homebuyers. The collaboration will help ALCOVA’s loan officers match borrowers with available programs more easily, addressing one of the biggest challenges in today’s housing market, namely affordability….
Dark Matter Technologies enhances its Empower LOS with full-scale eClosing capabilities
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter®), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced the expansion of the Empower® loan origination system (LOS) to include comprehensive eClosing capabilities by integrating Wolters Kluwer’s eOriginal® ClosingCenter and eOriginal eAsset® Management Platform….
Friday Harbor puts lenders in control with underwriting overlays in its AI Originator Assistant
SEATTLE, Wash. — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced that its AI Originator Assistant can now evaluate loan files against not only baseline program guidelines, but also the lender and investor overlays that ultimately shape salability and risk. By embedding these requirements directly into the workflow of frontline originators, the platform gives lenders greater control over credit quality and secondary market execution….
NotaryCam’s eClose 360 platform supports MISMO’s SMART Doc v3 standard for electronic HELOCs
HOUSTON, Texas — NotaryCam®, a Stewart-owned company and a pioneering provider of remote online notarization (RON) and identity verification / authentication technology for real estate and legal transactions, today announced that its eClose360® platform is fully compatible with the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization’s (MISMO) newly published SMART Doc® V3 standard for electronic home equity lines of credit (eHELOCs)….
U.S. mortgage loan originations to climb nearly 10% in 2026, iEmergent forecasts
DES MOINES, Iowa — iEmergent, a forecasting and advisory services firm for the financial services, mortgage and real estate industries, today announced the availability of its 2025-2027 U.S. Mortgage Origination Forecast. The firm projects total originations will climb to $2.27 trillion in 2026, a 13% increase over 2025, as slowing economic growth and easing interest rates fuel a rebound in refinance activity alongside modest purchase gains….
Click n’ Close names mortgage industry veteran Ian Kimball as president
ADDISON, Texas — Click n’ Close, a multi-state mortgage lender, today announced the appointment of Ian Kimball as president. In this role, Kimball will oversee strategic growth initiatives, operational execution and market expansion, reporting to founder and CEO Jeff Bode….
Argyle’s Shelby Bohannon named to Mortgage Banker Magazine’s 2025 Powerful Women of Mortgage Banking list
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — Argyle, the leading provider of direct-source income, employment and asset verifications, today announced its vice president of customer success Shelby Bohannon has been honored as one of Mortgage Banker magazine’s 2025 Powerful Women of Mortgage Banking. The annual recognition series spotlights women who are making an impact in the mortgage industry and are fostering the next generation of women leaders in the profession….