Wed, Nov 20 2013, 9:51 AM
The coming year should bring an
emergence of the first purchase-dominated market the U.S. has seen since 2000
Freddie Mac has predicted. The
s...
Wed, Nov 20 2013, 9:18 AM
Flagstar Bank has spread the word that Flagstar is adding an option for “ VA IRRRL Other Servicer ”
to use AVM rather than an appraisal up to 100% L...
Tue, Nov 12 2013, 10:21 AM
Generally speaking, home values are going up, and we receive plenty
of statistics every month slicing and dicing sales and values. The
latest is f...
Mon, Oct 28 2013, 4:00 PM
Mortgage rates stayed in line with
recent 4-month lows today. In some cases, there was a slight movement
in the closing costs associated with...
Tue, Oct 22 2013, 2:07 PM
The 'Value of Construction Put in
Place' survey for August was published on Tuesday, three weeks after its
scheduled release. The Census Bureau
re...
Wed, Oct 16 2013, 2:13 PM
With the Census Bureau, like the rest of
the government, shut down and unable to release its usual economic data the
National Association of Home Bu...
Fri, Oct 4 2013, 9:53 AM
The federal payroll report, eagerly
awaited on the first Friday of each month, will not be available today or for
the foreseeable future. The Bureau...
Thu, Oct 3 2013, 12:20 PM
While he anticipates that the current
government shutdown will be short-lived, Moody Analytics Chief Economist Mark
Zandi said yesterday that "If ...
Tue, Sep 24 2013, 10:49 AM
Given the change in the MBA's logo, David Frase writes, "I love the
new MBa logo! It emphasizes the loss of 'capital' experienced by our
industry...
Wed, Sep 18 2013, 10:57 AM
Building permits for the construction of
new privately owned residential units fell 3.8 percent in August to a
seasonally adjusted annual rate of 9...
Wed, Sep 18 2013, 10:07 AM
The industry is moving toward more acceptance of non-QM loans .
The CFPB will be the first to admit that just because a loan is not QM
doesn't me...
Tue, Sep 17 2013, 12:54 PM
Fannie Mae's senior economists said
today that anticipated declines in refinance
originations suggest that mortgage industry employment, which has...
Tue, Sep 17 2013, 2:44 PM
Home remodeling appears to be growing even more
steadily that other sectors of the residential construction industry. Building permits for improveme...
Mon, Sep 16 2013, 10:24 AM
On Friday the 13th the CFPB released the final amendments
to the Loan Officer Compensation, Servicing, QM and HOEPA Rules. The
official release ...
Mon, Sep 9 2013, 10:08 AM
We're all watching the residential lending industry change, although
in Saturday's commentary I noted several bank mergers from recent weeks.
Whet...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 10:15 AM
I know it is already Wednesday, but here is something labeled " The Monday Map "
which shows some interesting trends in personal incomes among the
...
Wed, Sep 4 2013, 3:30 PM
Builders are encountering a shortage of
buildable lots the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said today; a lack
of lots that is particu...
Tue, Sep 3 2013, 9:49 AM
August was not a pleasant month for many lenders, and September may
not be much better. Sure, volumes are down, and staffing is down in most
shops...
Tue, Sep 3 2013, 4:36 PM
Construction contributed nearly a
trillion dollars to the U.S. economy on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis
in July, an increase of 0.6 percent...
Tue, Aug 27 2013, 12:52 PM
The growth in home prices nationally
accelerated in the second quarter. The
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census di...
Wed, Aug 21 2013, 1:47 PM
Fannie Mae economists Doug Duncan, Orawin T. Velz, and Brian Hughes-Cromwick said today that despite two downside risk factors
they see the economy ...
Mon, Aug 19 2013, 10:07 AM
I am heading off to Indiana this morning, but still had time to catch
this OCC release about a company to cheat consumers who are trying to
rebuil...
Fri, Aug 16 2013, 10:28 AM
The pace of residential construction
was notably mixed across all three Census Bureau measures in
July, with the
issuance of permits, housing st...
Fri, Aug 16 2013, 10:14 AM
Hundreds of lenders across the nation are targeting purchase business. When was the last time refis accounted for less than 50% of MBA's weekly appl...
Fri, Aug 16 2013, 5:42 PM
Mortgage rates rose sharply again today , with best-execution up to 4.75 in
most cases, after another round of economic data failed to conv...
Thu, Aug 15 2013, 1:28 PM
In its August Economic and Housing
Market Outlook Freddie Mac celebrates, sort of, a birthday. It was
four years, at the end of June, since the rec...
Mon, Aug 12 2013, 9:30 AM
Periodically I am asked, "Do you know how many LOs there are in the nation? "
And folks periodically write and ask, "How many lenders are there in ...
Mon, Jul 29 2013, 9:38 AM
I am visiting Montana, and Butte just wrapped up "Evil Knievel Days"
over the weekend. (I had an acquaintance who was married to his sister -
thei...
Tue, Jul 23 2013, 10:10 AM
I want one of those jobs where people ask, "Do you actually get paid
for doing this?" Most folks involved in lending or real estate rarely
hear th...
Mon, Jul 22 2013, 1:35 PM
Fannie Mae said today in its July Economic and Strategic Report
that the view expressed in these reports since the first of this year
has not ch...
Wed, Jul 17 2013, 10:31 AM
Building permits and housing starts
both declined in June according to data released this morning by the
U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Ho...
Wed, Jul 17 2013, 9:40 AM
Huh? I head to Southern California today, but the big news comes from Illinois. Cole Taylor Mortgage looking for a buyer ? It probably won't be the...
Wed, Jul 17 2013, 4:54 PM
Mortgage rates improved moderately today,
making it back to levels not seen since July 3rd. That makes today
something of a symbolic victory ...
Tue, Jul 16 2013, 11:29 AM
Everyone has complaints about something. Mortgage lenders are the target of plenty of complaints. As one reader noted, "This is a classic self-fulfill...
Tue, Jul 16 2013, 1:38 PM
Freddie Mac calls "Taper Talk" is
the main topic of conversation in the financial world, that is,
speculation about the timing and speed that the Fe...
Mon, Jul 15 2013, 10:05 AM
Sure lots of depository and non-depository lenders made big bucks last year. But what about this year? Probably not .
Last
week I was remiss in ...
Mon, Jul 8 2013, 1:16 PM
The number of metropolitan areas listed
as "improving" by the National Association of Home Builders
(NAHB) and First American Title fell slightly i...
Tue, Jul 2 2013, 11:25 AM
The Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas received this question: "Can we close a loan if we discover that the borrower did not sign his/her l...
Mon, Jul 1 2013, 9:25 AM
Bond markets are closing early on Wednesday, and we all have a day off Thursday ( read more... ).
Thursday is the 4th of July. Everyone living in th...
Tue, Jun 18 2013, 10:44 AM
I am in Colorado this week for the Richey May President & CEO
Roundtable meeting, but here is some news regarding Ohio. When we think
"The Federal...
Tue, Jun 18 2013, 10:10 AM
Residential construction starts rose in
May while permitting for new construction was down slightly the U.S. Census
Bureau and the Department of Hou...
Tue, Jun 18 2013, 5:58 PM
Wells Fargo bank held a conference call
on the outlook for the housing market on Tuesday, the first of
several planned for 2013. The bank's econ...
Mon, Jun 17 2013, 11:03 AM
Low
inventories and increasing traffic have unleashed the confidence of
new new home builders the National Association of Home Builders
(NAHB) said...
Mon, Jun 17 2013, 9:41 AM
The United States does not have the only government that is knee-deep in controlling lending and real estate. Beijing,
which already has China's st...
Thu, Jun 13 2013, 5:05 PM
Fannie
Mae's Economic Outlook series continued its 2013 theme "Transition to
'Normal?'" in its June edition saying that four years into an expansio...
Mon, Jun 3 2013, 9:53 AM
Underwriters and loan originators are acutely aware of a trend
reflected in a stat the Census Bureau recently released: the number of
businesses w...
Tue, May 28 2013, 10:45 AM
S&P Dow Jones reported today that both its 10-City and 20-City Case-Shiller Composite Indices posted increases in the first quarter of 2013 that were ...
Tue, May 21 2013, 11:13 AM
If you're like me and rest your weary eyes each night by reading the Fair Housing Act of 1968, then you don't need to be told that the act " prohibit...
Mon, May 20 2013, 1:31 PM
Fannie Mae's economic and strategic research team today called the housing recovery "undeterred" after it contributed 0.3 percentages points to ec...
Thu, May 16 2013, 9:51 AM
The U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said today that new housing starts were down in April by 16.5 percent c...
