Origination

Average purchase sizes have increased each week this year, likely signaling greater buyer activity occurring toward the higher end of the market.

The increase in sentiment to a five-month high was fueled by more optimism about sales, the outlook and a pickup in prospective-buyer traffic.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's two new proposed rules make sense for most non-banks but applying them to independent mortgage banks is redundant, writes the head of the Community Home Lenders of America.

Weaker economic conditions, rising interest rates and expected changes in investment returns drove the reduced expectations, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Major secondary market investors recently allowing for the use of an attorney opinion letter (AOL) as an alternative to traditional title insurance has led to the emergence of both instigators and imitators, writes the CEO of Voxtur.

In cities where the demographic made a majority of purchases, homebuyers with average credit scores in the mid-700s submitted hefty down payments.

Federal Home Loan banks aren't doing enough to address the shortage of affordable housing in the U.S., FHFA Director Sandra Thompson says. Some of their members are instead using advances to manage liquidity and perhaps engaging in crypto-related and other activities that put the Deposit Insurance Fund at risk, she says.

Interest rates and inflation are at the top of the list of problems facing the industry, but attracting consumers under current market conditions has become more concerning, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

But with rates turning back up this past week, activity could fall in February, Black Knight Optimal Blue said.

The change comes as the battle with rival United Wholesale Mortgage reaches a fever pitch and analysts speculate that more changes at the top could be coming.