FHA

The agency wants mortgage servicers to extend special forbearance plans to those affected by the partial government shutdown and evaluate borrowers for loss-mitigation options.

Consumers reacted in a big way to falling interest rates as mortgage applications increased 23.5% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The government shutdown is not just affecting federal agency employees' ability to make their mortgage or rent payments, it could take them out of the home buying market, Zillow said.

As the government shutdown enters its third week, mortgage servicers are activating the response plans they normally use during hurricanes and wildfires to assist federal workers who may have trouble paying their mortgages.

Borrowers and financial institutions may be feeling the strain from reduced operations at the FHA and IRS, which has suspended the release of certain income documentation during the budget impasse.

Despite mortgage rates continuing their two month downslide, applications decreased 9.8% from two weeks ago due to market uncertainty, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With its bolstered fundraising cache, the Mortgage Bankers Association Political Action Committee should hold an increased influence over the industry's policy and regulation issues in the coming year.

Home retention actions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the first three quarters of 2018 already eclipsed 2016 and 2017 while forfeitures kept declining, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Many servicers expect their Federal Housing Administration mortgage portfolios to grow in the next year or two, and that increase could coincide with an uptick in delinquencies, warns Altisource Portfolio Solutions.

Mortgage applications decreased 5.8% from one week earlier, although rates fell during the period to their lowest point in three months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The current deputy secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Pam Patenaude, will step down in January.

The Federal Housing Administration mortgage loan limit will increase by approximately 7% for next year, mirroring the rise for conforming loans.

Mortgage applications to purchase newly constructed homes continues to decline, driven by affordability concerns among potential buyers, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Mortgage applications rose 1.6% from one week earlier as falling interest rates contributed to a boost in refinance activity, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage credit available to consumers increased in November by 1.1% from the previous month as lenders offered more conventional products with expanded underwriting criteria, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Growing home prices and climbing interest rates didn't stop millennials from buying houses in October, Ellie Mae said.

Mortgage applications rose for the second straight week as key interest rates fell back toward 5%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The rush in holiday shopping also boosted the housing market as mortgage applications increased 5.5% from one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Housing Administration's risk-sharing program with the Federal Financing Bank began as a temporary fix, but the agency is exploring how to make it more permanent.

Mortgage application activity decreased 0.1% from one week earlier as refinance volume tanked, although interest rates fell, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.