New Penn Financial LLC will operate under the name NewRez as of 2019.

New Residential said the name change and decision to rebrand are indicative of New Penn’s close alignment with its parent company and deliver value to customers and strategic partnerships. New Residential acquired New Penn, a national lender known for innovative technology, in July.

“NewRez combines the strength and experience of the New Penn and New Residential brands under one umbrella, and we look forward to the benefits we will collectively bring to borrowers through our wholesale, correspondent lending, direct-to-consumer, and joint venture/retail business channels,” said Kevin Harrigan, president and CEO of New Penn.

Since the acquisition, New Penn has had access to more capital and corporate backing from New Residential to grow and to expand New Penn’s product innovation capabilities.

The company has continued to develop flexible loan products such as the SMART Series line, which create more opportunities for qualified borrowers to purchase or refinance homes. During the year New Penn has also invested significantly in technology designed to streamline the loan approval process and improve the overall customer experience.

Millennials were not deterred from purchasing homes in October, despite a tight market and increased interest rates.

According to the latest Ellie Mae Millenial Tracker, the average loan amount to Millennial borrowers for all closed loans was $189,686 in October, down from $192,005 in September, but than last October’s average of $186,567. When men were listed as the primary borrower, the average closed loan in October was $198,864, compared to a much lower $188,607 when women were the primary borrower.

Even with rising mortgage rates, purchase loans still accounted for 88 percent of closed loans to Millennial borrowers in October, four percentage points higher than a year ago. Of all closed loans to this demographic, 68 percent were conventional loans, while 27 percent were for FHA loans, 2 percent were VA loans and 3 percent were undisclosed.

“Although housing prices and interest rates are still rising at a faster pace in 2018 than they have in previous years, those trends are not yet stopping Millennials from purchasing homes and putting down roots,” said Joe Tyrell, executive vice president of corporate strategy for Ellie Mae. “It is important for lenders to educate Millennials on the value of FHA loans that bring lower down payments and can allow these new homebuyers to stretch their dollar a little further even with rising interest rates.”

Additional findings from the October 2018 Ellie Mae Millennial Tracker are as follows:

• Interest rates on all loans rose to 4.96 percent, the highest percentage point since Ellie Mae started tracking this data in 2016, up from 4.87 percent in September, and up from 4.13 percent a year ago.
• Refinances slowly began to rise in the fourth quarter, representing 11 percent of home loans to Millennial borrowers.
• Across all home loans, it took an average of 42 days to close last month. A year ago, it took one day longer at 43 days to close. Purchase loans took an average of 41 days to close last month, compared to an average of 42 days to close a year ago. Refinance loans closed in 48 days last month, on average, compared to 45 days in 2017.
• The average FICO score for Millennial borrowers remained flat for the third consecutive month at 722, slightly down from 723 in July.
• The average age of all Millennial borrowers remained flat at 29.7 from the previous month, and essentially flat from 29.3 in October 2017.
• Millennial males (both single and married) were listed as the primary borrower on 60 percent of closed loans in October. Women were listed on 32 percent and the remainder did not specify a gender.

 Amerifirst Home Mortgage has gone live with a mobile tool that delivers detailed, timely and personalized information to borrowers about the value of their homes and potential to build wealth from those real estate assets. Black Knight’s mobile solution, Servicing Digital, was launched in June and is a component of Black Knight's LoanSphere platform. Amerifirst is the first lender to go live on the mobile solution.

Borrowers gain access to detailed, timely and highly personalized information to Amerifirst customers about the value of their homes and how much wealth can be built from these real estate assets. Also, Servicing Digital helps is designed to enhance relationships and increase retention by giving consumers easy, round-the-clock access to home and loan information.

"At Amerifirst, we are passionate about being a true partner to our customers and providing them with tools and information to support their financial well-being," said Greg Warner, director of Loan Servicing, Amerifirst Home Mortgage. "Adding Servicing Digital to our offerings gives our customers easy mobile access to their loan details, while also providing up-to-date information on estimated home values, recent sales in their neighborhoods, opportunities for maximizing equity and refinancing options."

Amerifirst is using the native mobile app version of the Servicing Digital solution. Servicing Digital is also available as a responsive web design.

 Servicing Digital gives homeowners the ability to easily perform tasks and view information related to their mortgages through a simple, user-friendly interface, while providing a platform for continual engagement between servicers and their customers.

The innovative, consumer-centric solution delivers useful information specific to an individual's mortgage, property and local housing market by accessing the servicer's data through Black Knight's comprehensive, end-to-end MSP system, as well as the company's industry-leading property records database, advanced analytics and automated valuation models.

Servicing Digital presents loan, home and neighborhood information dashboards in a clear, intuitive design with easy-to-use navigation. It lets servicers stay in regular contact by providing insightful, value-add information to customers wherever they are, when they need it most.

"By adding Servicing Digital's innovative capabilities, Amerifirst will be able to continually engage with its customers, which will help increase both satisfaction and retention," said Joe Nackashi, president of Black Knight.