Origination

Independent mortgage bankers had their most profitable fourth quarter in seven years for originations, but the fallout from the coronavirus could upset the economics of the industry in the short term.

Purchases of new homes in February held close to an almost 13-year high, showing momentum in the residential real estate market before economic activity fell victim to the coronavirus.

Minnesota Realtors is calling for a halt to all real estate open houses statewide, and they've asked the NorthstarMLS to disable the "open house" feature in its online home listing database.

The Federal Reserve Board should create a dedicated facility for mortgage servicers to access in order to make required advances, industry participants and observers, including its largest trade group, said.

The $16 trillion U.S. mortgage market — epicenter of the last global financial crisis — is suddenly experiencing its worst turmoil in more than a decade, setting off alarms across the financial industry and prompting the Federal Reserve to intervene.

The percentage of mortgages underwater — when a mortgage exceeds value — has decreased dramatically in South Florida since the Great Recession, meaning the region may be better prepared to weather COVID-19 than the downturn a decade ago.

Realtors are taking advantage of nearly every type of modern technology to maintain the embers of the real estate market.

The coronavirus pandemic is threatening to put a damper on the Marin County, Calif., real estate market as it enters its normally busy spring season, with the nation facing economic uncertainty and a "shelter in place" order forcing the cancellation of many house events.

The real estate market, particularly in the so-called luxury tier, has been struggling for years.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency authorized the government-sponsored enterprises to lend additional support to the mortgage-backed securities market and temporarily allow some flexibility in lending requirements to address coronavirus-related concerns.