Origination

More than 30 million homes in the U.S. are mortgage-free, with Florida — which has the highest proportion of retirees — the state with the biggest percentage of free and clear residences, suggesting it's better shielded from a decline in real estate prices.

The drop was led by a large decline in cash-out refinancing volume, Black Knight said.

Choices of which homes are used for comparisons play a major role in disparate home valuations for Black and white homeowners, according to studies recently released by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and academic researchers.

The company's India office was not impacted by the recent layoff, sources say.

The non-qualified mortgage lender lost $13 million in the quarter, a slight improvement over the previous period.

The latest move from the lender comes after a recent purchase of a Massachusetts brokerage and the appointment of several new leaders.

Some of the biggest lenders to U.S. offices are weighing sales of loans on the properties as regulators heighten scrutiny on commercial real estate debt portfolios. 

If rights holders have to sell these assets because of the Ginnie Mae capital rule, it will increase rates for lower income consumers.

But costs are still elevated annually in double-digit ranges for 46% of markets, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is reducing the amount lenders can sell to a government-sponsored enterprise by $3 billion next year.