Lew Sichelman

A pair of analysts at the Mortgage Bankers Association Secondary Market Conference said they don't believe there will be a private-label mortgage-backed securities product anytime soon.

The Mortgage Bankers Association is calling for a merger of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s mortgage bonds both as a “first step” in transitioning into a single security.

Mortgage originations will fall to their lowest level in five years in 2012, according to the latest forecast by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

It’s been five years since Uncle Sam placed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship and private investors all but abandoned the housing finance sector.

The housing finance system must be given back to the companies that make mortgages and the borrowers who use them to buy homes, keynote speakers said at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Secondary Market Conference.

The real estate market enjoyed a splendid first quarter in Texas, where both sales and prices logged positive gains.

Neil Morse, a career journalist and communications specialist who found his niche in the mortgage space, died April 27 of liver cancer.

For every positive step taken by lenders and the law enforcement community to stop people from scamming the system, it seems that fraudsters are one step ahead, experts conceded at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Fraud Issues Conference in Phoenix this week.

Lenders are getting smarter about uncovering fraud before putting bad loans on their books, according to the latest figures from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

The FBI mortgage fraud caseload is on track to pass last year’s volume and possibly even the record total reached in fiscal 2010.

March went out like a lion in Illinois, where existing home sales hit their highest level in four years during the month and the median price snapped a 20-month streak of declines.

Remodeling activity will grow by a "healthy" 6% by year's end, according to an index that measures strength in the sector.

Nearly three out of every four loan applications taken over the Mortgage Marvel on-loan shopping website last year were for refinancing.

Some regulators are using the state-run National Mortgage Licensing System to ride herd over more than just the mortgage business.

A rose by any other name may smell as sweet. But would the Highlands of Olney development sell as well if it were peddled as "K2"? Probably not. And therein lies the reason most builders believe naming their subdivisions ranks right up there in importance with quality construction. They also find the chore to be a traumatic event that one builder once compared to "trying to name your firstborn"

Nearly three out of every four loan applications taken over the Mortgage Marvel on-loan shopping website last year were for refinancing.

The Federal Housing Finance Board has finally quashed private transfer fees, all but putting an end to the controversial add-on that opponents maintain is an unwarranted tax on home buyers, now and long into the future.

Beginning July 16, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks will no longer be allowed to deal in mortgages on properties encumbered by private transfer fee covenants that do not benefit the property.

It's one thing for consumers to vote for the lender which offers the best customer service, but it's a step up when the ballots are cast by a company which earns its own reputation on the reputation of the companies with which it does business.

Finalizing a process that began 13 months ago, the Appraisal Practices Board has adopted new guidance that will help valuation professionals help determine the value of seller concessions in the appraisal process.