Stearns Lending has appointed Steve Smith to the role of president, in which he will focus on growth opportunities for the 12^th largest non-bank lender in the U.S.

Smith will work with David Schneider, chief executive officer of the company, and will continue in his current role as chief financial officer. Also, he has been appointed to the Operating Committees of Stearns’ Preferred Partnerships Certainty Home Loans and Citywide Home Loans.

“In my new role, I look forward to continuing to explore opportunities for growth including ways we can continue to engage our employees, customers and partners with new advances in technology that are changing the mortgage landscape,” said Smith.

His appointment is the second at Stearns in recent days. Jim Linnane was promoted to national retail president and will report to David Schneider, CEO of Stearns Lending. He will focus on increasing Stearns’ national presence and volume while expanding the business into new territories. Linnane had served as the division president for the central and eastern regions of Stearns Home Loans.

Since joining the executive team three years ago, Smith’s strategic focus on digital technology has created efficiencies and increased cost containment, while also ensuring that Stearns Lending stays ahead of the technology curve. A seasoned mortgage veteran with three decades of finance, mortgage-banking and real-estate industry experience, Smith worked at Caliber Home Loans and Bank of America.

“Success in today’s mortgage industry requires a strong leadership team focused on our employers, customers and partners,” said Schneider. “In his dual roles as president and CFO, Smith and I will work closely together as we continue to identify growth opportunities for Stearns while remaining focused on serving our customers, business partners and most importantly our team.”

 Pentagon Federal Credit Union, the second largest credit union in the U.S., has inked a deal for the MSP loan servicing system, default solutions and other applications from Black Knight.

The MSP system encompasses all aspects of servicing--from loan boarding to default-- for first mortgages and home-equity loans and lines of credit. Used to service more than 34 million active loans, the MSP system helps servicers increase operational efficiency, reduce operating costs and improve risk mitigation. In addition, Pentagon Federal will use several Black Knight default solutions, including loss mitigation, bankruptcy, foreclosure and invoicing.

Also, Pentagon Federal will use Black Knight's Servicing Digital platform, an interactive mobile application that will deliver detailed, timely and highly personalized loan information to members about the value of their homes and the amount of wealth that

"Black Knight's suite of servicing and default products will provide us with the technology we need to increase PenFed's operational efficiency, the scalability to easily accommodate growth, and the ability to support our commitment to meet compliance requirements," said Winston Wilkinson, executive vice president/president of mortgage banking for Pentagon Federal. "We are also excited to offer the Servicing Digital solution to our members for anytime, anywhere access to information and functionality that will enhance their experience."

In addition, Pentagon Federal will be using the Black Knight Expedite eSign and eDocument delivery services, which enable members to electronically view and sign data and documents. Also, the credit union has licensed Order Exchange, enabling servicers to streamline their product-ordering process.

To further support its servicing operations, Pentagon Federal will use the Black Knight Actionable Intelligence Platform to provide proactive intelligence that will benefit its servicing operation.

 "Black Knight is proud to support Pentagon Federal's growing business using our comprehensive and innovative technology, data and analytics solutions for the company's servicing operations and to enhance member experience," said Black Knight chief executive officer Anthony Jabbour. "We continue to invest in our extensive solutions to offer the advanced features and functionality our clients need to deliver a premier consumer experience and support operational efficiency gains that can help them reduce overall costs."

A sixth consecutive month of declining home sales in January contributed to the largest year-over-year inventory increase in at least 10 years, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report.

While year-over-year home sales dropped 11 percent, extending a streak that began in August, inventory grew year-over-year by an average of 6.4 percent across the report's 54 U.S. metro areas. January marked the fourth consecutive month of year-over-year inventory growth, which reversed a decade-long trend of shrinking inventory. December 2018's year-over-year inventory growth of 4.7 percent was the previous record in the report's 10-year history.

"The winter chill extended to the housing market in January, as home sales remained cool," said Adam Contos, CEO at RE/MAX. "The good news is that inventory levels in January continued to rise on a year-over-year basis, providing incremental improvement in what's been a multi-year shortage of for-sale homes. This is a positive for homebuyers, as the market continues to swing their way."

The median sales price of $234,000 was a report record for January, increasing 4.6% over January 2018. But the rate of sales price increase was considerably less than the 6.7% posted from January 2017 to January 2018. December 2018 was the only month since January 2012 to show a year-over-year decline in median sales price.

Fifty-nine days on market was a record low for January sold listings, averaging one day less than the 60 posted in January 2018. January's 3.9-month supply of inventory was higher than the 3.4-month supply of January 2018.

"Underlying demand remains solid overall, as evidenced by widespread price increases," said Contos. "So the housing market, while not markedly busy in January, remains relatively healthy. Furthermore, with interest rates stabilizing and home-price increases slowing, the spring selling season shapes up to be as interesting as any we have seen in years."

Closed transactions
Of the 54 metro areas surveyed in January 2019, the overall average number of home sales was down 26.1 percent compared to December 2018, and down 11.0 percent compared to January 2018. Only Billings, Mont., experienced an increase in sales year-over-year of 7.1 percent.

Median sales price of 54 metro median prices
In January 2019, the median of all 54 metro median sales prices was $234,000, down 2.5 percent from December 2018, and up 4.6 percent from January 2018. Four metro areas saw a year-over-year decrease in median sales price, including Anchorage, Alaska, declined 3.9 percent, Pittsburgh, down 2 percent , Trenton, N.J., dropped 1.5 percent, and Birmingham, AL, declined 0.5 percent.

Six metro areas increased year-over-year by double-digit percentages, with the largest increases seen in Augusta, Maine, 12.1 percent, Las Vegas, 11.2 percent, and Wichita, Kansas, 10.5 percent.

Days on market--average of 54 metro areas
The average Days on Market for homes sold in January 2019 was 59, up four days from the average in December 2018, and down one day from the January 2018 average. The metro areas with the lowest days on market were Omaha, Neb., 32, Nashville, Tenn., 41, and a three-way tie among Las Vegas, Cincinnati, and San Francisco at 43. The highest Days on Market averages were in Augusta, Maine, 100, Hartford, Conn., 94, and Anchorage, Alaska, 93. Days on market is the number of days between when a home is first posted on an Multiple Listing Service and a sales contract is signed.

Months of housing inventory – average of 54 metro areas
The number of homes for sale in January 2019 was down 2.6% from December 2018 and up 6.4% from January 2018. Based on the rate of home sales in January, inventory decreased to 3.9, from 4.1 in December 2018, and increased compared to 3.4 in January 2018. A six-months supply indicates a market balanced equally between buyers and sellers. In January 2019, nine of the 54 metro areas surveyed reported a supply at or over six months, indicating a buyer's market, including Miami, 9 and Indianapolis, 8.6. Nine markets shared the lowest supply, 2.0.

In federal court in Central Islip, N.Y., Edward E. Bohm, president of sales and an undisclosed owner of Long Island mortgage lender Vanguard Funding LLC, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud.

The plea related to the illegal diversion of over $8.9 million of warehouse loans that the lender had obtained to fund mortgages.  The guilty plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein. Bohm faces up to 30 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture and a fine.

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According to court filings and facts presented at the plea proceedings, between August 2015 and March 2017, Bohm engaged in a scheme in which he and others obtained warehouse, or short-term, loans for Vanguard by falsely representing that Vanguard would fund or refinance mortgages for clients.  Instead, Bohm and others used the money to pay personal expenses, compensation, as well as to pay off loans they had obtained with fraudulent loan submissions for improper purposes.

Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, and Linda A. Lacewell, Acting Superintendent, New York State Department of Financial Services, announced the guilty plea.

The government’s case is being handled by the office’s business and securities fraud section. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Whitman G.S. Knapp and Elizabeth Losey Macchiaverna are handling the prosecution with assistance from assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Mantell of the office’s asset forfeiture section.