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Meet Ben Lane

Ben Lane

Ben Lane

Managing Editor, New American Funding

Ben is the Managing Editor for New American Funding. In this role, Ben helps with content creation, news coverage, and serving our audience of borrowers, real estate agents, loan originators, and other housing professionals. Prior to joining New American Funding, Ben worked at HousingWire, a top housing media outlet. Ben joined HousingWire in 2014 as a reporter and was later promoted to Senior Financial Reporter, Editor, and eventually to Managing Editor. During his time at HousingWire, Ben helped elevate HousingWire to national acclaim and record traffic growth. He was also honored with multiple awards for his work, including an Eddie Award from Folio Magazine and a Gold Award for Best Trade Magazine Story from the National Association of Real Estate Editors.

Ben Lane Articles

New Home Construction Held Steady in September

For a housing market in need of more new homes going up for sale, relief may be on the way as a new report shows that construction of new single-family homes is still on track to see a sizable increase over last year.

Existing Home Sales Rebounded in September

Existing home sales are on a bit of a rollercoaster right now, having fallen for four straight months, climbed in June and July, then retreating in August. And now, existing home sales are on the way back up.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Expanding New Refinance Program

Earlier this year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced new refinance programs targeted at lower-income borrowers who previously may not have been able to refinance their mortgage to decrease their monthly payment. Aiming to allow more people to take advantage of the current market’s lower interest rates, the companies will soon be expanding these programs.

Mortgage Activity Shifts Back Towards Purchase Market

For most of the year, the mortgage market has been much more focused on purchase lending than refinances. That changed in August when the refinance share of the mortgage market back climbed above 50% for the first time since February. That shift appears to have been short-lived.

New Home Sales Continued Improving in August

It appears that new home sales have fully shaken off the period of declines that saw sales drop in April, May, and June. That streak ended in July when new home sales held steady. And things got even better in August.