“Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.” Corporate changes are the name of the game. Atlanta’s Crescent Mortgage’s bank owner is aligning all mortgage facets of the enterprise and moving to “retail only” and eliminating third party. Rather than wind down, Colorado’s Universal Lending is inking an agreement with Lower LLC in a partnership setting up Universal Home Loans being in the same markets as a division of Lower LLC and improve its competitive position. Every discussion that I’ve had with real estate agents lately involves a) thousands of agents leaving the business due to the lack of… business, and b) how 8 percent mortgage rates have absolutely ground transactions, and even interest in looking at properties, to a halt. Meanwhile, I’m having similar conversations with loan originators as a) NMLS licenses are declining, and b) 8 percent mortgage rates have ground activity to a halt. From a broker-dealer’s perspective, BAML’s trade desk reported that, “Supply limped into the weekend, closing at 1.2bn amid a light rate move, dragging the 5 day average to 1.8bn.” (Today’s podcast can be found here, sponsored by Richey May, a recognized leader in providing specialized advisory, audit, tax, technology and other services to the mortgage industry for almost four decades. Hear an interview with Richey May’s Seth Sprague on the servicing marketplace, strategic planning, and returns to profitability from an advisory perspective.) Lender and Broker Software, Products, and Services