Origination

Five Florida Keys men ripped off the federal government and received thousands of dollars in recovery money after Hurricane Irma struck last year, the Monroe County State Attorney's Office said.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Dec. 14.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has proposed barring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from using credit scores developed by VantageScore over concern about conflicts of interest with the joint venture of Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

Late payments on mortgages are expected to keep dropping and credit is expected to remain strong next year, in part because housing prices remain healthy in most areas, according to TransUnion.

In most of the country, single women are outpacing men when it comes to homeownership, despite females only making 80% of what the average male does, according to a LendingTree report.

Mortgage applications to purchase newly constructed homes continues to decline, driven by affordability concerns among potential buyers, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

Mortgage rates dropped significantly due to economic fears driving the markets following several weeks of little or no movement, according to Freddie Mac.

Intense competition among homebuyers remains as shown by the continual growth of median down payments, according to Attom Data Solutions.

In Philadelphia, there is no limit to the amount by which assessments — the value used to calculate property tax bills — can increase in one year.

North Texas home sales fell by 8% in November.