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The shift in product mix and type caused the average guarantee fee paid on loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to rise by four basis points in 2022 versus the prior year, an annual Federal Housing Finance Agency report to Congress stated.Combined, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac acquired 3.8 million mortgages at a total dollar volume of $1.1 trillion in 2022. This made up 61% of all mortgages originated that year.Purchases made up 63%, while cash-out refinances were 25% along with rate and term refis that contributed 12% of that volume.In 2021, the government-sponsored enterprises bought 9 million loans with a balance of $2.6 trillion.The average total guarantee fee paid was 61 basis points in 2022, up from 57 basis points in 2021."The increase is largely due to the change in loan purpose and product mix across the two years," the FHFA report said. The 2022 vintage had a higher percentage of purchase mortgages, as well as 30-year fixed-rate loans versus the 2021 production. Those characteristics have higher g-fees than refis or shorter term fixed-rate mortgages.The ongoing portion of the g-fee was marginally higher in 2022, 44 basis points versus 43 basis points. But the annualized upfront fee rose to 17 basis points from 14 basis points, which the report termed "a more significant increase," driven in part by the expected lifespan of a GSE loan falling to 5.8 years from 6.9 years in 2021.On a non-annualized basis, the upfront fee rose to 94 basis points in 2022 from 92 basis points in the prior year.The highest g-fees were for cash-out loans, at 69 basis points in 2022; one year earlier it was 66 basis points. Purchase loans averaged 59 basis points versus 55 basis points in the year-to-year comparison, while for the rate/term refi, g-fees actually decreased to 50 basis points from 53 basis points, which the FHFA attributed to the August 2021 elimination of the adverse market refinance fee, a 50 basis point charge put in place in December 2020 to cover pandemic-related losses.Because of higher rates, the share of 30-year FRM purchased in 2022 was 9 percentage points greater than the prior year. For those loans, the g-fee rose year-over-year to 63 basis points from 60 basis points.The 15-year FRM average g-fee was unchanged at 42 basis points. For adjustable-rate mortgages, they increased to 59 basis points from 57 basis points.Meanwhile, increased g-fees for certain higher balance and second home loans were put in place in April 2022. FHFA later eliminated upfront fees for lower income homebuyers and related products."The reduced revenue from the elimination of upfront fees for certain homebuyers and affordable products was primarily offset by the targeted fee increases on certain high balance loans, second home loans, and cash-out refinances," the last of which was announced in February 2023, the report noted.While the g-fees for mortgages whose loan-to-value ratio is under 80% is the highest at 62 basis points, credit enhancement — primarily in the form of private mortgage insurance — means the 80% to 90% bucket has a 59 basis point average g-fee and over 90% is at 56 basis points.

Rising housing costs mean a growing number of adults are heading back home to mom and dad after graduation from college, causing financial stress across generations, a new survey says. Approximately 46% of parents said they had "boomerang" adult-age children who had returned home to live with them at some point, according to research from financial services firm Thrivent. Half of that share attributed the trend to the surging costs of homes and rent, with that particular sentiment increasing by 15 percentage points from just a year earlier."This is a wakeup call that's gone unanswered," said Chaz Black, Thrivent financial advisor, in a press release. "More young adults returning home underscores the enormous – and growing – financial pressures they're facing after graduation."The data indicates that the pressure is also rippling across to their parents. As children moved back in, 38% of their parents said they were struggling to pay off their own debts, with the share increasing from 23% a year ago. Close to 37% found it difficult to save for their long-term housing and retirement goals; the sentiment more than doubled from 16% in 2023. Thrivent conducted its recent poll in April, surveying over 2,200 people. A previous study from Redfin earlier this year similarly illustrated the impact of current home affordability on both younger generations and their reliance on family in a challenging housing market. In that study, the brokerage found a rapidly growing number of Generation Z and millennial consumers receiving down payment assistance or other forms of support from their parents. While the pace of home price growth moderated over the past year, affordability has not improved as interest rates accelerated to decades-long highs, and put a purchase out of reach for aspiring owners. Payments on a median-priced home made up over 32% of the average national monthly income in the first quarter this year, a level several percentage points above what would be considered affordable, according to Attom But it's not housing costs alone making homeownership elusive for young people, Thrivent's poll said. Student debt is limiting their ability to save, with approximately 28% of young adults with education loans indicating they're living paycheck to paycheck. Only 22% said their first job adequately helped them pay down their debt.Their outlook is causing anxiety among parents about their children's future financial wellness. Among parents with young adults at home, less than half expressed confidence their kids were ready for financial independence. A 55% share gave their child a "C" grade or lower on financial readiness, while 11% assigned an "F." 

Fairway Independent Mortgage is making notable recruiting moves, announcing Wednesday it brought onboard origination teams from Summit Funding, Movement Mortgage, Norcom Mortgage and Intercap Lending.All in all, 84 producers have transitioned to the Madison, Wisconsin-based company, adding to its ballooning headcount of almost 3,000 sponsored loan officers, per the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System.The origination team from Summit Lending, which brings 22 teammates to Fairway, including Kirk Scrima and brothers Dan Kaminski and Steve Kaminski, funded 291 units last year for a volume of $159 million, a press release read. Kirk Scrima is the brother of Summit Lending's CEO, Todd Scrima.Further, mortgage executive Tiffany Fisher, who had a short four-month stint at Movement Mortgage and was previously a regional manager at Supreme Lending, joined with 36 teammates, which operate out of Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas.A 21-member team headed by mortgage executive Kristen Walther is also transitioning from Norcom Mortgage, bringing additional branches to Fairway in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Florida.Lastly, Burt Hoagland and Brian Kesler transitioned with a five member team from Intercap Lending. The team, which operates out of Cottonwood Heights, Utah, originated 235 units with a volume of $111 million in 2023."Fairway is humbled and honored to have these amazing teams join us," said Fairway's CEO Steve Jacobson in a press release Wednesday. "We are driven to earn their trust and respect each day."In recent months, Fairway, a full-service mortgage lender with branches in 50 states, exited from wholesale lending and rumors have swirled that the lender was considering selling operations to CrossCountry Mortgage. In October, Fairway's founder called the allegations of a sale "noise" and said he welcomed it, noting there's "nothing wrong with a little heat." "We are certainly not perfect. We have never said we are but we all start at zero each day and press forward…..knowing each day in our industry is a new opportunity to earn trust and respect," he wrote.In 2023, the mortgage lender originated $27.5 billion in total volume, per its website.

Current interest rate conditions are leading ICE Mortgage Technology to lower growth expectations, as the company started the year with a first-quarter loss.The mortgage technology unit of Intercontinental Exchange reported improved results, though, from the previous quarter, as it ended the first three months of the year with an operating loss of $48 million. ICE narrowed losses by 35.1% from $74 million three months earlier. But the latest quarterly figure was 71% below the $28 million year-over-year loss on a pro forma basis, after factoring in the results from a pre-merger Black Knight.A sluggish mortgage lending environment, punctuated by volatile interest rates and consolidation, continues to plague many in the business and impacted ICE's results, its leaders said. The average 30-year fixed rate crossed over the 7% threshold this spring, running counter to early-year predictions. "What's unknown, and what we're just watching closely is that just given how fast rate expectations changed, a lot of our market participants want market stability and want a view as to when they're going to get return on investments," said Intercontinental Exchange President Ben Jackson during the company's earnings call. "So we're watching closely to see our sales cycles go in to potentially lengthen," Jackson also serves as chairman of ICE Mortgage Technology.The outlook for mortgage rates in 2024 had the company adjust some of its guidance for the year. "After factoring in the dramatic shift in interest rate expectations for 2024 relative to just three months ago, we now expect total revenue growth in our mortgage technology business to be flat to down in the low single-digit range with revenues unlikely to improve materially from the first-quarter levels until the second half," said Chief Financial Officer Warren Gardiner. ICE Mortgage Technology's latest results were based off of $499 million in revenue, just off $502 million in the fourth quarter, but up 111% on an annual basis from $236 million.Recurring revenue edged down to $390 million compared to $397 million at the close of the previous quarter. Transaction-backed revenues totaled $109 million, nudging up from $105 million. "Recurring revenues were impacted by both industry consolidation and continued pressure on renewals within our origination technology business," Gardiner said. Indicative of the financial pressures companies are facing, "some percentage" of customers were opting to renew with lower minimums and subscriptions, but they tended to be made up for in other costs, Jackson said. "The trade-off there is consistently a higher per-close loan fee," he noted. By segment, origination technology accounted for $174 million worth of the incoming revenue during the first quarter and servicing software $214 million. ICE Mortgage's data and analytics solution garnered $67 million, while closing solutions $44 million.  Although the business forecast may remain subdued in the short term, company leadership celebrated several of its recent tech advancements, such as the first integration from its Encompass loan origination system to the MSP mortgage servicing platform acquired through the Black Knight merger. ICE also introduced other new technology initiatives, including its MSP digital experience, or MSP DX. "This service is an intuitive and conversational new interface, leveraging natural language processing for our servicing system designed to streamline workflows, increase efficiencies, and expedite training of new servicing personnel," Jackson said. The company also said it was pleased with the growth of new clients and the success it found in bringing on existing customers of one product to another platform, allowing it to provide front-to-back origination-to-servicing technology. Among new Encompass users coming from the existing MSP client base were Citizens Bank and Webster Bank. ICE added 20 new Encompass clients during the quarter, company officials said. "On MSP, we have a record number of clients that are on MSP with 94 clients, and we have 13 clients that are going through implementation. Many of these are ones that we've announced since we closed on Black Knight," Jackson also said, adding that the full financial impact from some of the new customers would not be felt until later in the year.On a company-wide basis, Intercontinental Exchange, which also operates a fixed income and data services business, as well as the New York Stock Exchange and related trading units, posted a net quarterly profit of $767 million.

Mortgage rates rose for the fifth consecutive week, but so far it has had limited influence on this year's spring home purchase season, Freddie Mac commented.The 30-year fixed rate mortgage increased by 5 basis points this week to 7.22%, tying a level last seen at the end of November, the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey found.For April 25, the 30-year FRM was at 7.17%, while for the same week in 2023, it averaged 6.39%.For the 15-year FRM, the average rose three basis points, to 6.47%, from 6.44% and a year ago at this time, the 15-year it averaged 5.76%."With two months left of this historically busy period, potential homebuyers will likely not see relief from rising rates anytime soon," Sam Khater, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said in a press release. "However, many seem to have acclimated to these higher rates, as demonstrated by the recently released pending home sales data coming in at the highest level in a year."According to LenderPrice data posted late morning on Thursday on the National Mortgage News website, the 30-year FRM was at 7.36%, nearly 10 basis points lower than it was at the same time last week, 7.457%.One of the elements in pricing mortgages, the 10-year Treasury yield, has remained elevated, even though it was down from one week ago, when on April 25, it peaked at 4.74%. By April 29, it closed at 4.61%.This reflects market conditions following the Federal Open Market Committee's decision at its April/May meeting not to change short-term rates. Investors, who once thought a June cut was likely, have backed off that position.Rates are likely to remain in the 7% range in the future, said Richard Martin, director, real estate lending solutions for analytics firm Curinos, which also tracks mortgage rate data. He added that while he expects rates to fall a bit by the end of the year, he is a little more bearish than Fannie Mae's latest outlook.In terms of the impact on mortgage rates, the Fed's decision was anticipated and already priced in."I like to characterize it as no one predicted the level and pace of increases no one's going to predict the level and paces of decreases," Martin said. If the FOMC was to cut rates, it would likely be closer to the end of the year.On April 30, the first day of the FOMC meeting, the yield moved higher again, by a little over 7 basis points to just shy of 4.68%. However, the next day, it went down to 4.60%.As of mid-morning on Thursday, the 10-year yield was almost 4 basis points higher.Where mortgage rates currently are makes the environment tough for mortgage originators and title underwriters, but is good for companies that are "servicing-heavy," said Bose George in a commentary issued after the FOMC meeting."Despite the headwinds around mortgage volumes, stable home price appreciation should remain a positive for mortgage credit," George said.Martin expects rates to hold in the current range, as does Redfin's economic research lead Chen Zhao."The Fed meeting is unlikely to push mortgage rates down — but the good news is that it won't push them up, either, which could have happened if the Fed took 2024 rate cuts off the table," Zhao said in a press release. "Even though housing costs shouldn't climb much more, they will remain elevated for the foreseeable future, which could push more buyers away."Martin is leaning towards a mild recession occurring in the future, noting the U.S. economy is not yet out of the woods.The 10-year Treasury is just one influence on mortgage pricing; the other is the primary-secondary market spreads related to securitization activity.Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell noted that the Fed will reinvest any proceeds from mortgage-backed securities run-off over $35 billion into Treasuries. That translates into lower purchase activity"While this is in line with market expectations, we think this will continue to be negative technical for agency MBS," George said.It is not just those spreads that could influence pricing, Martin said, noting the record per-loan production losses originators suffered last year.Homebuyers are still suffering from interest rate shock, said Jeremy Sicklick, CEO of real estate firm HouseCanary. "With mortgage rates creeping over 7%, many buyers and sellers alike seem to be holding out for rate cuts in the months ahead before jumping into the housing market," Sicklick said in a press release.HouseCanary data found the median price of all single-family listings rose 3.2% over a year ago, while closed listings rose 8%."With high mortgage rates and surging home prices tamping down market activity, we expect to see a subdued spring buying season continue throughout May, despite inventory increases," Sicklick declared.But besides higher rates, the problems around inventory and affordability remain."I think we've got to solve for those in concert," Martin said. "Lower rates will help but I don't think it's enough to really materially move that needle."

Another mortgage lender has opted to sell its operations, as elevated interest rates and low origination activity continue to rattle the lending industry.Mountain West Financial, a Redlands, California-based shop founded more than 30 years ago, sold its retail assets to ML Mortgage Corp. for an undisclosed amount.According to Mike Delehanty, the CEO of the company, ML Mortgage will acquire "the branches and loan officers of Mountain West." "We tried very hard to make the business profitable, but the structure of the company would not allow for it in this market," wrote Delehanty Thursday. "We are now looking at different opportunities for the future. It was very difficult to make this decision which has affected so many people who worked here for a very long time."ML Mortgage did not immediately respond to a request for comment.As of Thursday, Mountain West had 86 sponsored loan officers, according to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. It is licensed to operate in 17 states.Most of the operations staff are not part of the acquisition, according to numerous posts on LinkedIn. It remains uncertain when production staff will officially transition over to ML Mortgage.Prior to selling, Mountain West tried to stay afloat by making the "difficult decision" to exit the wholesale space in 2022. The company originated over $1.9 billion in 2021 with 39% of the volume coming from its wholesale channel, according to the Scotsman Guide Top Mortgage Lenders 2022 rankings.MWF's products include conventional, USDA, Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loans and it offers down payment assistance programs.The purchaser of Mountain West's retail division, ML Mortgage, was founded in 2007 by Kamran Akbar. According to NMLS, the California-based mortgage lender currently sponsors 63 LOs and is licensed to operate in 15 states. ML Mortgage offers conventional, FHA, VA, reverse and USDA mortgages to consumers.

Ocwen Financial's net income got back in the black as it moved toward a rebranding next month, thanks largely to servicing gains and cost cutting measures.The company generated $30 million in net income during the first fiscal period of the year, compared with a net loss of $47 million the previous quarter. It also improved on its performance in the first quarter of last year, when it was $40 million in the red."Overall, this was a strong quarter for financial results, both GAAP and adjusted pre tax income," said Sean O'Neil, chief financial officer of the company, during its earnings call. The recovery is in line with its plan to get a fresh start under the name Onity Group. The rebranding of the company and its ticker symbol reflects the phrase "on it," with the aim of portraying it as a dependable investment. The change is pending a shareholder vote May 28.Like some other servicers, Ocwen's gain under generally accepted accounting principles rested partly on a one-time improvement in valuations in the first quarter. During the previous quarter, the company and some other servicers also had recorded negative adjustments in valuations.The company has also seen longer-term improvements to its financial position and balance sheet deleveraging, including an 8.5% or $9.7 million year-over-year decrease in GAAP operating expenses, and a 14% reduction in legacy servicing advances.When one-time quarterly charges are omitted, Ocwen's pretax results have been consistently strong, O'Neil said.Figures in the company's investor presentation report show it generated $38 million on that basis from servicing during the quarter and $2 million in originations."Both our servicing and originations businesses continued their profitable trend," he said.While generating profit from origination remains challenging for the time being, the company has been able to take a diverse approach to production that has benefited the broader operation, Glen Messina, chairman, president and CEO, said during the earnings call."We've added multichannel origination capabilities to replenish and grow our servicing portfolio," he noted.All of Ocwen's origination channels returned to profitability during the quarter, according to O'Neil."Higher margins on lower volumes drove the profitability, with reverse origination seeing the largest improvement. Lower profits in correspondent were offset by gains in reverse and bringing consumer-direct back to breakeven," he said.While servicing was the main source of profitability during the quarter, executives said they are  seeing reasons to selectively sell some after modeling their value and finding it more financially advantageous than holding the assets.The company has entered letters of intent to sell up to $6 billion in mortgage servicing rights, Messina said. Its joint venture mortgage-servicing rights investment vehicle has entered into LOIs to sell $10 billion."While this may temporarily suppress total servicing growth, we believe it's overall accretive for our shareholders, and our enterprise sales team can replenish all the MSRs over the next six months," he said.The company's adjusted return on equity rose to 13.8% from 9.4% the previous quarter, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts noted in a report on Ocwen's earnings.Ocwen's stock opened at $25.90 on Thursday and was trading at $25.07 shortly before 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Two former assistants at LendUS, a California-based mortgage lender acquired by CrossCountry Mortgage in 2022, are suing their employer for allegedly stiffing them and others of overtime compensation owed, thereby breaching a federal labor law.A suit filed in a federal court in California claims LendUS instituted a policy of discouraging loan assistants and processors from reporting overtime work. This alleged behavior went as far as threatening to boot employees from their jobs if they reported that they worked over 40 hours. This was done as a way to "save on labor costs," the complaint filed April 23 said. Barbara Greist, who worked at LendUS from 2017 to 2022, and Susan Schell, who was at the company from 2019 to 2022, are suing on behalf of themselves and other loan assistants and processors similarly impacted by their former employer's practices. The pair is hoping to get the suit certified as a class action, which would include "hundreds of loan assistants and loan processors."CrossCountry Mortgage, the successor-in-interest to LendUS, declined to comment on pending litigation. Legal counsel for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.The complaint accuses LendUS of breaking the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal labor law that established a worker's right to a minimum wage. Since loan assistants and processors were paid on an hourly basis and were "non-exempt," they were entitled to overtime compensation at the rate of one-and-one half times their regular rate of pay for all time worked over 40 hours per week, the suit says.Per the two plaintiffs, the policy of not reporting overtime work was in place notwithstanding the fact that the now defunct mortgage lender "assigned work to loan assistants and loan processors that could not reasonably be completed in a 40-hour work week." As such, employees "regularly worked more than 40 hours in a work week off-the-clock, without compensation for overtime hours worked."The complaint requests a jury trial to take place and for the court to grant the plaintiffs unspecified damages, including liquidated damages, to be paid by defendants according to proof for plaintiff and the collective.Lenders such as Fairway Independent Mortgage CorpRocket Mortgage, and Freedom Mortgage have also had FLSA complaints lodged against them. Of the 27 FLSA complaints filed against lenders from April 2022 to April 2023, 12 have closed under various circumstances.In one rare publicly available settlement, Better.com in March pledged to pay a former mortgage underwriter $14,000, including $7,000 in back wages and $7,000 in liquidated damages, after she sued the lender last January in a Florida federal court for its alleged failure to pay overtime.

Mortgage Q&A : “Which mortgage should I pay off first?”Today we’re going to talk about strategy if you hold multiple mortgages and want to reduce your total interest expense.It’s not uncommon to have multiple mortgages, such as a first and second mortgage tied to the same property.Or perhaps a couple mortgages on separate properties, such as one on a primary home and another on a second home (or investment property).Before we dig into the details, paying down the loan with the higher interest rate is generally advised.Generally Best to Pay Off Highest Interest Rate FirstLike any type of loan or credit card you may haveIt’s typically beneficial to pay off the one with the highest interest rate firstSuch as a second mortgage (as they often feature very high mortgage rates)But you should take your time and do the math to be sureLet’s consider an example. If you’ve got a first mortgage at a rate of 6%, and a second mortgage set at 12%, it’d probably be in your best interest to knock out that second mortgage sooner rather than later.That means making extra mortgage payments on the second mortgage if you’ve got the money handy (assuming you actually wish to pay down your mortgage ahead of time).These days you have to question whether borrowers actually want to pay off their mortgages early, as many are locked in at record low rates that are quite favorable to hold onto.Anyway, let’s look at an example to illustrate the savings: 1st mortgage: $200,000 loan amount, 30-year fixed @4% 2nd mortgage: $50,000 loan amount, 30-year fixed @8% Extra payment: $100 per monthLet’s assume you’ve got a first mortgage with an interest rate of 4%, and a second loan set at a rate of 8%.If you were to pay an additional $100 a month on your first mortgage, you’d save $26,855.30 in mortgage interest over the full duration of the loan, and shave 4 years and 11 months off the loan term.Conversely, if you decided to pay an extra $100 a month on the second mortgage, you’d save $44,134.28 in interest and shave more than 14 years off the term.So clearly the move here would to be pay off that second mortgage first, seeing that it has a mortgage interest rate double that of the first mortgage.What About Different Loan Amounts?It may appear that you can save money by paying off a lower-rate mortgageIf the interest rate isn’t much lower than the other mortgageAnd the loan balance happens to be a lot larger since it could accrue a substantially larger amount of interestBut you have to factor in the different payoff periods and apply the funds accordinglyHere’s an instance when the opposite looks like it could be true. Let’s look at another example:1st mortgage: $300,000 loan amount, 30-year fixed @4.5% 2nd mortgage: $50,000 loan amount, 30-year fixed @6% Extra payment: $100 per monthImagine we increased the loan amount on the first mortgage to $300,000. We also raised the interest rate on the first mortgage slightly, and lowered it to 6% on the second.As a result, it would appear to be in your best interest (no pun intended) to make the extra $100 payment on the larger first mortgage, even though the interest rate is lower than that of the second.You would save $34,087 in interest over the life of the loan, and shave about three and a half years off your loan.If you chose to make the extra $100 payment on the second mortgage each month, you’d only save $29,226 in interest, though you would shave 13 years and 7 months off the term.Because the first mortgage is so much larger, a lot more interest accrues, and because the interest rates are fairly similar, the first mortgage winds up being more costly if paid down on schedule.We Have to Consider the Savings From an Early Payoff That Can Be Applied to the Remaining LoanBut it’s not quite that simple. If we applied the extra $100 each month to the second mortgage, it would be paid off in 16 years and five months.Technically, that means there is now an extra $300 available ($299.78 was the old monthly payment on the second mortgage) to put toward the remaining first mortgage balance.Remember, the first mortgage would require that extra $100 for about 26 years and five months to realize the full interest savings.And with the second mortgage payment of roughly $300 extinguished about 10 years earlier, it could now be applied to the first mortgage for the remaining loan term.So you could apply an extra $300 per month to the first mortgage beginning around month 198.Arguably, you could deploy $400, since you’d have the $300 freed up and the $100 you were previously paying extra.If you put that $400 extra toward the first mortgage beginning in month 198, you’d save $17,581 in interest on the first mortgage.And the loan would still be paid off roughly three and a half years earlier, just as if you had applied $100 to it instead of the second mortgage.Collectively, the interest savings would be $46,807, factoring in the $29,226 saved on the second mortgage.That would be significantly better than $34,087 in interest saved by simply applying $100 toward the first mortgage from day one.In summary, be sure to do the math (using an early payoff calculator) to determine which home loan to pay down first.Of course, interest rates on second mortgages tend to be a lot higher than first mortgages, so the answer is usually to pay down the second mortgage faster.Just be sure to pass on the monthly savings to the remaining loan once the other loan is paid off.Consider All the Details Beyond the Interest SavingsThere are other factors to consider beyond interest rate and loan amountSuch as if one loan is fixed and another is an ARM (and subject to future rate increases)Or if you have other high-interest debt that should be paid off firstSuch as a high-interest credit card, student loan, or personal loanAdditionally, many second mortgages may be ARMs, such as HELOCs, so there’s the risk the rate could rise over time.This would give you more incentive to pay it off, to avoid any payment shock or increased interest expense.[How to pay off the mortgage early.]Of course, it may not always be wise to make larger payments than necessary on your mortgage(s).If you’ve got credit card debt at 18% APR, you’ll probably want to pay that off before making extra payments on your mortgage(s), which carries a relatively low interest rate.Some homeowners seem to want to pay down the mortgage as quickly as possible while racking up thousands in finance charges on their credit cards, despite the fact that mortgage interest is tax deductible and credit card interest is not.Speaking of, you could consider which loans are tax deductible and which are not, and add that to the overall decision as well.Read more: Pay off the mortgage or invest?

Zillow Group Inc. shares fell after the real estate company published a second-quarter outlook that called for lower revenue in its core business and predicted stalling growth in the broader U.S. housing market.Zillow, led by Chief Executive Officer Rich Barton, expects revenue from its residential business to be between $372 million to $382 million in the second quarter, according to a shareholder letter Wednesday. That's less than the $393 million that the company took in during the first three months of the year. Zillow based that projection on tepid first-time home buying activity and a recent rise in mortgage rates, predicting that overall U.S. transaction volumes in the residential real estate market would be little changed from the second quarter of last year. Shares plummeted as much as 12% to $36.63 before paring losses in after-market trading Wednesday at 4:55 p.m. in New York. Shares had fallen 27% from the start of the year through Wednesday's close, before earnings were released.Zillow's disappointing outlook comes as the company reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations. The company's dominant consumer brand helped it muddle through a period of slow sales and looming changes in the US housing industry. Zillow had revenue of $529 million, more than the $509 million analysts estimated, on average, in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.Zillow continues to attract eyeballs even as home sales and available listings remain near historic lows. About 217 million unique users visited the company's websites and apps on the average month in the quarter. The company, whose main business revolves around connecting prospective homebuyers with real estate agents, reported $125 million in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, beating the average analyst estimate of $104 million.The residential real estate industry has been jolted in recent months by antitrust litigation that seeks to upend a decades-old status quo. In March, the National Association for Realtors agreed to a settlement that would change the way agents are paid, potentially slashing commission income for the agents who remain Zillow's core customers.Zillow is positioned to thrive amid industry changes because of its large audience of high-intent homebuyers, and because it caters to the most-productive agents, Barton and Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Hofmann said in a letter to shareholders Wednesday.