Paul Muolo

Commercial mortgage lenders more than doubled their originations in the second quarter compared to 2Q 2010 with all property types – especially multifamily – contributing to the gains.

First Tennessee Bank, Memphis, ended June with $1.9 billion of warehouse commitments on its books, just about flat compared to the same period a year ago.

One tenet of real estate investing is that you never should sell a home in a down market. And one tenet of mortgage banking has always been that you don't sell servicing rights in a down market either.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell to 2.57% Wednesday -- compared to just under 3% last week – as stocks plunged in both the U.S. and overseas markets.

If you need to refinance or buy a home, Quicken Home Loans is offering a 30-year FRM at 4.4% at 0.25 points. It sounds like a good deal to me and I'm sure other lenders will match that rate. Why are rates so low?

Home prices increased by just under 1% in June from the prior month, marking the third consecutive monthly increase, according to new figures compiled by CoreLogic, Santa Ana, Calif.

Annaly Capital Management, one of the largest mortgage investing REITs in the U.S., posted net earnings of $120.8 million in the second quarter, compared to a loss of $218.2 million in 2Q 2010.

Federal officials should go easy on overriding state sovereignty by changing foreclosure laws without a legislative mandate, former HUD general counsel Robert Couch told a Senate panel on Tuesday.

Fannie Mae purchased $41.4 billion of home mortgages from its seller/servicers in June, its best purchase month of the second quarter, and a sign that originations in the primary market may be on the upswing.

Consumers who refinance are continuing to pay down their loans, at least in part, hoping to save thousands of dollars over the long haul, according to new figures compiled by Freddie Mac.

The Mortgage Bankers Association fears that when the Federal Housing Finance Agency finally unveils its servicing fee structure proposal it will contain just one compensation model, and is appealing to the agency to include more.

Cornerstone Mortgage Co., Houston, a $3 billion a year originator, is continuing its talks with banks and may be close to a deal, according to industry officials close to the situation.

Ask any mortgage banker about compliance and chances are he or she can quickly rattle off how much this task is costing his firm each year.

The 'on-again/off-again' sale process has started once again for Aurora Loan Services, the Colorado-based mortgage banking division of Aurora Bank FSB, according to industry officials.

In the wake of a political deal to solve the nation's debt ceiling crisis, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury fell to 2.7% Monday, which usually means mortgage rates are headed south as well.

In the wake of a purported debt deal, rates are falling, which is usually good news for both consumers and mortgage bankers. But how much new business will result from a 2.74% yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury? (Does a debt downgrade even matter?)

We have a debt deal, but let's not kid ourselves: the mortgage and housing finance industries have been forever changed the past three years and one likely victim will be the mortgage interest deduction. President Obama, a Democrat, has no qualms about killing or whittling down the MID. (He's not too keen on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac either.)

How many of you out there have been thinking that America is a little bit like a consumer who's considering a 'strategic default' on his home mortgage? Think about it for a moment: a strategic default candidate is employed but looks at his mortgage debt and says, "The house is underwater by $200k, so why just not walk and pay rent across town?" (Only crazy people don't pay the mortgage, right?)

Bank of America over the past 10 days tried – and failed – to sell roughly $50 billion of 'legacy' mortgage servicing rights, according to servicing advisors familiar with the auction.

Genworth Financial, which controls the nation’s fifth largest mortgage insurance firm, reported a net loss of $96 million in the second quarter, citing continued problems in the MI space.