Origination

Due diligence firm American Mortgage Consultants has purchased Meridian Asset Services as part of its continuing efforts to expand through acquisition or organic growth.

The standards for mortgage lending constrained in December, as a drop in conventional credit brought availability to its lowest point since February 2017, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Average mortgage rates continued the downward spiral that started before Thanksgiving and in the past week that finally boosted mortgage application activity, according to Freddie Mac.

North Texas homebuilders eased off construction in the fourth quarter as some buyers took a break from the housing market.

Stable home prices and fewer homes changing hands in the Las Vegas Valley caused housing values to plateau last month, according to the valley's leading real estate association.

Lennar Corp., the first big homebuilder to report in this earnings cycle, surged after its chairman said buyer traffic improved in December as mortgage rates declined.

Movement Mortgage is purchasing the entire retail production division of Lennar's Eagle Home Mortgage subsidiary, although the homebuilder will still have a home finance business on its books.

Consumer lending should also be a bright spot, while mortgage lending could be suppressed by rising rates and tight housing supplies.

First-time homebuyers earn $30,000 more than their peers who didn't buy a house, and nearly $12,000 more than the country's overall median household income, highlighting affordability issues in current housing conditions, according to Zillow.

Continual declines in the refinance share of mortgage originations led to prepay rates dropping to their lowest levels since 2009, according to Black Knight.