Servicing

It would seem that Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Edward DeMarco has given up hope that Congress will get around to permanently fixing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Administration in early December will seek bids on a small pool of defaulted single-family loans and plans to conduct additional auctions in April and September of next year.

Government officials are likely to lessen large banks' liabilities over how they handled delinquent Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages as part of a settlement with the largest mortgage servicers, according to people briefed on the negotiations.

Even though the residential mortgage industry has been through the wringer the past four years outside money is continuing to eye the sector, but is being choosey about what it buys -- and how much it spends on both companies and servicing rights.

The PMI Group Inc., Walnut Creek, Calif., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

After more than a year of declines, foreclosure activity rose in Massachusetts in October, according to the Boston-based real estate data publisher The Warren Group.

Given how volatile the public capital markets have been recently, some real estate investment executives speaking in New York recently said they have been finding private markets relatively more attractive.

Freddie Mac reported a 24% jump in refinancings from September to October while total loan volume rose by less than 4%.

Lennar Corp. has upsized its senior debt offering to $350 million and priced it at a 3.25% interest rate. It first proposed selling $300 million in debt. The over-allotment for the offering was also increased to $50 million from $45 million.

Application volume fell by 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Nov. 18, as purchase apps were up to their highest level since August, but refinancings were down to their lowest point since July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The data for the previous week (Nov. 11) was adjusted to take into account Veterans Day.