Prominent members of the housing industry are calling for an end to the QM Patch, and reform for Qualified Mortgages. Here are some suggestions housing experts have for the CFPB and the future of the QM Patch.

Mortgage rates climbed to a seven-week high over the last several days, driving the nation's refinance activity into decline, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. That being said, the MBA indicates the nation's purchase activity soared, as the index increased for the third straight week to the highest reading since July.

A new study of distressed property dispositions between 2003 and 2017 by Fannie Mae and academic researchers finds loss severity on nonperforming loans is lower when properties are disposed of early, before a lender takes ownership.

Having raised well north of $150 million in capital this year alone, digital mortgage company Better.com is in full growth mode. According to details provided earlier this year by the company, Better has added more than 500 new employees in the last year and planned to hire at least 400 more this year. But the company is not stopping there. Better announced this week that it is planning a massive expansion in Charlotte and plans to hire 1,000 employees in its new North Carolina office over the next five years.

Homebuilder confidence came in at 68 points in September, rising from August's upwardly revised reading of 67, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. September's sentiment level now marks the highest reading since October of last year. NAHB Chairman Greg Ugalde said low interest rates and solid demand continue to fuel builders' sentiments even as they continue to grapple with ongoing supply-side challenges.

Plaid, a technology platform that connects various applications with users’ bank accounts and has a growing presence in the mortgage space, raised $250 million last December in its Series C funding round that pegged the company with a reported valuation of $2.65 billion. But now, the company has two new and very notable investors: Mastercard and Visa.

We are in the adapt or die moment for mortgage technology, and lenders must quickly move from doing digital to being digital, one expert explained. Leaders in the lending space need to understand that the greatest hurdle for technology in the housing industry isn’t technical. It’s cultural.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will answer questions from reporters following the end of Wednesday’s policy-setting FOMC meeting that’s widely expected to produce a 0.25% rate cut. Watch out. The last time Powell held a press conference, after July’s FOMC meeting, he used two words that spooked investors and cratered the stock market. And, then there’s his boss, President Donald Trump, who is panning his job performance via Twitter.