Origination

The deadline to participate in the Top Producers Survey is Wed. Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. EST. The 20th annual loan officer ranking has a number of new features to highlight the accomplishments of the industry's top performers.

Refinance mortgages accounted for 45% of mortgage volume, the highest share in a year, according to Ellie Mae.

With 30-year mortgage rates reaching a four-year high, loan application activity was lower this past week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Nearly 50 years after the federal Fair Housing Act was signed into law, banning racial discrimination in lending, black prospective homebuyers in the St. Louis area continue to be denied conventional mortgage loans at a much higher rate than whites.

The Michigan company has been acquisitive lately, buying California branches and a wealth advisory firm.

Marin County's already inflated housing market climbed even more in 2017, with the median price of all homes at $980,000, an 8.9% jump from the 2016 median of $900,000.

Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in January to a four-month low, indicating a shortage of available properties is increasingly hindering the real estate industry.

As inflation fears put upward pressure on 10-year Treasury bonds and mortgage rates nationally, borrowers could start to take more notice of what lenders are charging them locally.

Recent tax cuts could negatively affect home prices over the long run, according to a survey of economists and other housing market experts.

Mortgage borrowers 60 days or more late with their payments declined both quarter-to-quarter and year-over-year, as recession-era defaults work their way out of the system.