Tag: Optimal Blue

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its June 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report showing total lock volume rose 1.95% month-over-month (MoM), driven by increased refinance activity. Refinance share climbed from 16% to 18% of all locks as rate-and-term refinances jumped 17.4% MoM and 18.4% year-over-year (YoY). Cash-out refinances rose 8.1% from May and nearly 28% YoY.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released the May 2025 edition of its now-expanded Market Advantage mortgage data report, which features newly added borrower profile and capital market datasets for a more comprehensive picture of early-stage mortgage activity and loan profitability. The enhancements come at a critical time for mortgage lenders navigating heightened interest rates, tighter margins, increased volatility and deepening affordability challenges.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today announced a new product that helps originators efficiently track and identify refinance opportunities so they can reengage borrowers with eligible refinance options at the right time. Available to Optimal Blue PPE users, Capture for Originators dramatically reduces the manual effort loan officers currently spend evaluating refinance potential by automatically analyzing entire portfolios each month and putting recapture opportunities directly into originators' hands.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today announced that Ask Obi, an AI-powered assistant designed to help mortgage lending executives extract real-time insights from across Optimal Blue's capital markets platform, is now generally available to all PPE clients. Introduced at the company's inaugural user conference in February and refined through beta testing with select clients, Ask Obi provides executives with fast answers to complex profitability questions at no additional cost.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its April 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report showing total loan lock volume rose 3.2% month-over-month (MoM) as the spring homebuying season progressed, with purchase locks up 7.5% despite ongoing economic pressures.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today announced the general availability of Originator Assistant, a powerful addition to the Optimal Blue PPE. Leveraging generative AI, Originator Assistant eliminates human bias in the loan structuring process and helps originators identify all options for a borrower, providing more ways to help consumers realize the American dream of homeownership.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its March 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showing a 24% surge in rate lock volume as early spring buyers returned to the market and homeowners jumped at the chance to refinance into lower rates. While still down 2% on a year-over-year (YoY) basis, purchase volumes were up 21% month-over-month (MoM). Rate-and-term and cash-out refinances jumped 52% and 20% MoM, respectively, together representing 25% of all lock activity.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today announced that Senior Software Engineering Manager Shawn Chandwani, 34, has been named among HousingWire's Rising Stars. The annual list celebrates young professionals who shoulder significant leadership responsibilities and contribute to the broader industry and business landscape, establishing themselves as influential figures and leaders for tomorrow.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today announced a strategic alliance with Cotality™ (formerly CoreLogic®) that expands access to its mortgage origination and pricing data. Through this collaboration, Cotality will offer Optimal Blue's data to a broader audience, including hedge funds, capital markets participants, and investment firms seeking insights into the mortgage markets.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its February 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showing a 7% month-over-month increase in mortgage lock volume driven primarily by a surge in refinance activity. Rate-and-term refinances saw the biggest jump, rising nearly 40% as homeowners seized the opportunity to lower their monthly payments. Cash-out refinances also edged higher, while purchase lock activity remained subdued for the second consecutive month.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its January 2025 Market Advantage mortgage data report, revealing a sharp rise in year-over-year (YoY) refinance activity alongside a drop in purchase lock counts. The decline in purchase lock counts marks the lowest January count since Optimal Blue began tracking this data in 2019. Meanwhile, refinance lock volume surged even though the Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI) 30-year ticked above 7% for the first time since May.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today unveiled a series of new products and features, alongside its major Ask Obi AI assistant announcement, at its Summit user conference in San Diego. These innovation announcements underscore the company's commitment to delivering high-impact solutions, at no additional cost, that tackle real-world challenges and help lenders maximize profitability.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today announced Ask Obi, an AI assistant designed to provide mortgage lending executives with instant, actionable insights from their Optimal Blue products and data. Unveiled during Optimal Blue's inaugural Summit user conference in San Diego, Ask Obi gives lenders the power to view their operations holistically with data aggregation across Optimal Blue's comprehensive capital markets platform.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its December 2024 Market Advantage mortgage data report, showcasing year-over-year (YoY) growth in mortgage activity, even as seasonal trends led to a month-over-month (MoM) decline in rate lock volumes. Overall, December mortgage lock volume was up 26% YoY, driven by an 18% increase in purchase locks, a 43% rise in cash-out refinances, and an 82% jump in rate-and-term refinances.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today released its November 2024 Market Advantage mortgage data report, highlighting a 25% decrease in month-over-month (MoM) lock volume as interest rates hit their highest levels since early July, creating headwinds for affordability.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- Optimal Blue today announced the speaker lineup for its inaugural user conference, the Optimal Blue Summit 2025. Legendary skateboarder and entrepreneur Tony Hawk will headline the event. The conference will also feature sessions led by Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of Research and Business Development Michael Fratantoni, Ph.D., MBA Associate Vice President of Secondary and Capital Markets Sasha Hewlett, AMP, HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler, and representatives from Microsoft.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- 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), signaling strong demand among homebuyers.

PLANO, Texas /New York Netwire - National News/ -- 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 strategy.

PLANO, Texas, Oct. 28, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- 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 profitability.

PLANO, Texas, Oct. 8, 2024 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- 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 target federal funds rate by 50 bps on Sept. 18, the market had already priced in a portion of the rate reduction, leading to a full month of increased refinance activity in September.