“The San Diego Padres visited an orphanage in Mexico. ‘It’s really sad to see their faces with no hope,’ said Juan, age 9.” In other San Diego news, Optimal Blue wrapped up its Industry Summit this week. As with many events, the talk in the hallways was nearly as important as the actual sessions. The California fires were a topic, and this month’s piece in STRATMOR is titled, “Natural Disasters and Economic Resilience.” There were certainly conversations about data protection, state licensing flexibility and remote work, and remote online notarization. OB launched many new products, interestingly, at no incremental cost to their clients! Skateboarder Tony Hawk (age 56) was even there. Also of interest, of course, is the general business climate. Many have seen locks pick up somewhat in recent weeks. According to Curinos’ new proprietary application index, refinances increased 15 percent week over week and decreased 39% in January; the purchase index increased 15% week over week and decreased 33% for January as a whole. January 2025 funded mortgage volume increased 27% YoY and decreased 21% MoM. Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Optimal Blue. OB bridges the primary and secondary mortgage markets to deliver the industry’s only end-to-end capital markets platform, helping lenders maximize profitability and operate efficiently so they can help American borrowers achieve the dream of homeownership. Hear an interview with the MBA’s COO Marcia Davies on how the MBA and mPower are helping the industry stay on track and lead the industry.)