Servicing

The number of California homeowners brought into the default foreclosure process surged in the third quarter, according to the real estate information provider DataQuick.

Despite rock bottom interest rates, mortgage applications fell 15% for the week ending October 14 with purchase money loans hitting their lowest level in 15 years, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

U.S. Bancorp, a top ranked player in residential mortgages, reported $17.2 billion of originations in the third quarter, more than double its home funding production in the prior period.

Residential home prices may get a boost from an unlikely source: a pickup in short sales, which occur after default, but before a foreclosure auction.

Morgan Stanley & Co. last week took a final round of bids on its residential servicing division, Saxon Mortgage, Ft. Worth, Texas, which holds $28 billion of contracts on its books, according to investment banking officials familiar with the situation.

After a long drought of mergers and acquisitions activity, the market for, among others, private-mortgage companies, is showing signs of life and recovery. If you own, operate or advise a middle-market company, $5 million to $500 million in revenue, what does this mean for you and your clients when thinking about shareholder liquidity or selling the business? And how can you improve the odds of getting a deal done?

Mortgage banks may soon focus more on a minority borrower group they may have overlooked. A recent study found Chinese-Americans hold almost no consumer debt outside of typical mortgage loans, indicating these borrowers are a mortgage lender/servicer’s dream customer.

Clayton Holdings, Shelton, Conn., Tuesday announced the formation of a new securitization group to aid the industry in what it hopes will be a revival of the private label MBS market.

Bank of America said it is receiving more buyback requests for older vintages of loans from Fannie Mae and plans to contest some of these claims regarding breaches of representations and warranties.

Freddie Mac economists are expecting a surge in refinancings during the fourth quarter and recently increased their origination forecast for the period by nearly 70%.