Origination

Seattle kicked off 2018 the same way it spent the prior year and a half, as the hottest real estate market in the country, with no slowing down.

A majority of midsize and large banks complain that red tape is mounting and that they are passing on higher regulatory costs to customers and have less flexibility in designing products, according to a new survey by the RMA.

Lenders should not get so desperate chasing volume by originating lower credit non-qualified mortgage products that they are inviting the next regulatory crackdown, said David Stevens, the Mortgage Bankers Association's CEO.

One purpose of the Senate bill was for small banks to rein in skyrocketing costs, but some bankers question whether the changes will save them money, and adapting to the reforms may even increase spending.

There is an oncoming liquidity crisis that will force consolidation in the mortgage industry as margins tighten and funding sources dry up.

Lenda, launched in 2014, currently makes mortgages start to finish in two weeks. But it's aiming to make it a process that can be finished on a borrower's lunch break.

A gauge of signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes increased in February for the first time in three months, highlighting uneven progress in the industry.

Despite growth in senior-held mortgage debt, home equity for homeowners 62 and older grew to $6.6 trillion in the fourth quarter, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and RiskSpan.

Mortgage applications increased 4.8% from one week earlier and rose for the fourth time in five weeks as key interest rates held steady, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Single-family home sales in Anchorage have remained relatively stable as people have trickled out of Alaska during the state's current recession.