Verification, AI, Prequal Products; STRATMOR Tech Survey; Government Program News

Did you know that 53 percent of statistics are made up on the spot? “Rob, you recently mentioned that 30 percent of repeat buyers paid cash and did not finance their home. Where did that statistic come from?” The most recent Home Buyers and Sellers Report from NAR. If you’d like to see stats based on age, here is as much data as you would like. Lenders and vendors love data, and according to Curinos proprietary application index, June 2026 funded mortgage volume increased 6 percent Y-o-Y and increased 8 percent M-o-M. The average 30-year conforming retail funded rate in June 2026 was 6.35, 10bps higher than May 2026 and 44bps lower than the same month last year. Curinos drills into this data further here. Certainly, the ability to look at granular statistics has increased (Gallus has a good dashboard product), but are you “managing to” or “managing through”? Managing is always a topic on today’s Last Word at 10AM PT. Brian Vieaux, Kevin Peranio, Christy Soukhamneut, and Coby Hakalir break down the week's biggest market developments and industry narratives. The panel focuses on separating meaningful trends from short term noise and what lenders should be watching next. (Today’s podcast can be found here… this week’s ‘casts are sponsored by FICO. As the industry's most predictive credit score, FICO Score 10T combines proven performance with deeper insight into borrower behavior to help support a stronger and more resilient housing finance system. Today’s has an interview with Rate’s Ryan Ogata on why more and more originators/branch operators are choosing “profit and loss” models over traditional retail.)