Falling interest rates contributed to efforts that helped Hovnanian Enterprises nearly halve its net loss during its fiscal first quarter, when it maintained a strong sales pace by selling more low-priced homes.

Mark Calabria, who could be confirmed as early as this month, is expected to focus on changes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conservatorships to let the mortgage giants keep more of their profits.

Mr. Cooper Group took a net loss of $136 million in the fourth quarter after lower rates hurt the mark-to-market value of its larger mortgage servicing rights portfolio harder than its peers.

New York regulators rejected Fidelity National Financial's acquisition of Stewart Information Services because the combination would have a dominant share of title insurance in the state.

Arch Capital Group named Michael Schmeiser president and CEO of its U.S. mortgage insurance business as the former head moved up the corporate ladder.

Ocwen Financial reduced the size of its net loss by nearly half during 2018 thanks to cost-cutting measures, and economies of scale from its acquisition of PHH Corp.

CoreLogic's fourth-quarter earnings declined from the previous year because of the slower mortgage origination market and an $8 million impairment charge due to its restructuring plans.

Altisource Portfolio Solutions recorded multimillion-dollar net losses in the fourth quarter and the full year for 2018, due to the reduction of the Ocwen Financial servicing portfolio and other repositioning activities.

The six private mortgage insurers had a great year as they continued to grab market share from the Federal Housing Administration. Despite some headwinds, 2019 is shaping up to be another good year.

Zillow Group Inc., the housing search website that's taken a hit to its stock price as it pursues an ambitious plan to buy homes and originate mortgages, is bringing back its first chief executive officer to lead the transformation.

New Residential priced its second stock offering in four months, looking for gross proceeds of nearly $665 million.

With a growing market share of home sales and wider breadth of services, Redfin posted significant annual revenue gains.

The government-sponsored enterprises are going through a transition period. From proposals for rebuilding their capital cushions to tackling shortages in affordable housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a number of key challenges with wide-ranging consequences this year.

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. mortgage volume inched down during the fourth quarter, but is hoping a recently added rate-buydown feature could bolster future lending.

Black Knight reported lower net earnings, but higher revenue in the fourth quarter compared with the previous year, driven by growth in the company's software segment.

Fourth-quarter increases in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage origination volume helped Walker & Dunlop reach a new quarterly high in revenue of $215 million.

Genworth's U.S. mortgage insurance unit's adjusted operating income increased over the previous year as the lower corporate tax rate and lower loss ratio overcame a 9% reduction in new insurance written.

PulteGroup's housing-finance unit recorded a year-to-year decline in its capture rate for the fourth quarter, as competition in the market intensified.

Flagstar Bancorp's acquisition of 52 Midwest branches of Wells Fargo helped increase its core customer base, but its mortgage results were lower than anticipated in the fourth quarter, according to the Troy, Mich.-based bank.

Ditech Holding Corp. fired its chief operating officer after nine months, and entered into a forbearance agreement for a debt payment that was due in December, it said in a regulatory filing.