Origination

Over half of mortgage industry executives anticipate first-time home buyer growth in 2018, estimating that market will grow at a faster pace than the overall housing market, according to Genworth Financial.

New-home construction rebounded in October to the fastest pace in a year, partly reflecting recovery efforts in the hurricane-stricken South.

A new Republican director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is likely to take immediate action to change certain rules, including the "qualified mortgage" and payday rules, while curbing pending enforcement actions that are considered too harsh on financial firms.

The FHFA is allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to invest in the credits for the first time since they entered conservatorship. Its purpose is to promote affordable housing in underserved markets.

Housing inventory nationwide has declined for more than two years. But in a small number of markets, the number of homes for sale is growing.

Four Texas markets have had the most home price appreciation in the country during the last decade.

Bay Area homebuyers beware. Among the nation's 100 largest housing markets, San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland — in that order — are the least likely places to find a price cut on a home for sale.

Mortgage rates moved to their highest mark since July and the 10-year Treasury yield ticked up 6 basis points, according to Freddie Mac.

There were 1.4 million fewer properties seriously underwater in the third quarter, marking the largest year-over-year drop since the second quarter of 2015, according to Attom Data Solutions.

That’s an about-face from the bank’s previous transaction, completed in October, which was backed by fixed-rate mortgages, nearly half of which were underwritten to standards for purchase by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.