GSEs

Purchases of new homes jumped in December to the highest level in more than six years, a sign the industry is poised to keep expanding in 2015.

CoreLogic Inc., the property-data firm spun off from First American Financial Corp., hired Frank Nothaft from Freddie Mac as its chief economist.

Over 50% of mortgage lenders said they plan to increase their marketing towards first-time homebuyers in 2015 to take advantage of changes in conforming and government lending programs.

Early signs point to a wave of Federal Housing Administration borrowers trying to tap into lower prices for mortgage backing.

Freddie Mac is selling $410 million of deeply delinquent U.S. home loans in its second sale of the debt.

A new forecast from Freddie Mac suggests that mortgage rates will remain stable for the first two quarters of 2015.

Purchases of previously owned homes rose less than forecast in December as higher prices limited sales to first-time buyers.

The traditional method of measuring mortgage denials is fundamentally flawed. But by evaluating not just the quantity, but also the quality of mortgage applicants, the denial rate picture becomes more clear.

Top housing economists don’t think an Oil Patch slowdown will result in a weaker national housing market.

Mortgage rates declined for the third straight week, with lenders on average offering 3.63 percent on a 30-year fixed loan, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

Mortgage rates near record lows, an improving job market and gradually easing credit standards will converge to make it the best year for home construction since 2007, say economists.

Home prices rose more than economists estimated in November, a sign job growth is helping to boost housing demand.

The pension fund sector owns hundreds of billions of dollars of mortgage securities. But MBS holdings are such a small percentage of their portfolios, pensions may not be aware of their heft in the industry.

Julian Castro, secretary of housing and urban development, said 2015 will be a year of "housing opportunity" as the economy continues its rebound.

Yields on government-backed mortgage securities that guide U.S. home-loan rates widened to the most relative to Treasuries in almost three months as refinancing soars amid lower borrowing costs.

Justin Wheeler, who was named CEO last week of Berkadia Commercial, the commercial-mortgage business owned by Berkshire Hathaway and Leucadia National, said global investors are increasingly betting on U.S. property.

Mortgage application volume for the period ending Jan. 16 reached its highest level since June 2013, led by a 22% increase in refinance applications, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The federal government's recent decisions to lower annual premiums for new borrowers and reduce down payment requirements suggest it has little interest in making room for private capital in the mortgage market.

The Obama Administration's decision to cut the FHA annual premium by 50 basis points will do little to boost a lagging housing market where banks are looking for near-zero lending risk.

MGIC on Tuesday reported an increase in its quarterly earnings, as the company slashed its losses and boosted net premiums.