Mortgage industry technology company iEmergent has identified a broader use for its forecasting analytics and advisory services: helping boost homeownership in lower-income neighborhoods.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to extraordinary economic shifts including interest rate declines that turbocharged the refinance market.

Laird sat down with HW+ to discuss how increased regulation presents a huge opportunity for lenders.

Laird Nossuli, CEO of iEmergent, joins the MBA CONVERGENCE, which promotes more sustainable, affordable homes for purchase and rental for underserved people and communities.

Chief of Forecasting Mark Watson discusses how the national Purchase Mortgage Generation Rate - or PMGR - continues to march toward a historically sustainable rate of 4 percent. Read more about the PMGR over time, how it has changed in recent years, and - most importantly - how the PMGR in each market follows an unique path over decades.

The 2021 HMDA data is available in Mortgage MarketSmart. Analyze your market share, your progress toward fair lending goals, and more.

iEmergent projects total mortgage originations to top $4.1 trillion in 2020, which will be the biggest year of mortgage originations in U.S. history. Read more about the impact of the coronavirus on the housing market, and how it contributed to this record year.

Despite health, social, political and economic disruption unlike any seen in the past century, mortgage originations soared in 2020 - due to a refinance boom driven by historically-low rates. Purchase mortgage activity may see a drop of as much as 20% as a result of widespread unemployment and economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.