Origination

The Bay Area's super-costly housing market has made it hard — sometimes impossible — for schoolteachers to put down roots and buy homes near their jobs.

New home purchase application activity bounced back in May as sales of these properties increased by 5.6% compared with April.

The move follows mounting criticism that many homeowners using property assessments to finance energy efficiency upgrades can neither understand, nor afford, the terms of deals.

While the courts have affirmed cities’ right to file predatory lending suits, they are also now holding them to a much higher standard in proving that banks knowingly steered minority borrowers into high-cost home loans.

LendingTree has added property valuation data to its My LendingTree site, showing consumers how much equity in their home they can tap.

Federal Reserve officials forged ahead with an interest-rate increase and additional plans to tighten monetary policy despite growing concerns over weak inflation.

Wintrust Mortgage has committed to funding $40 million in below-market fixed interest-rate loans in the Chicago area through a partnership with Habitat for Humanity.

Mortgage applications increased 2.8% from one week earlier as refinancings hit their highest level since November, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The average Chicago property tax bill is going up about 10% this year following City Hall and Chicago Public Schools tax hikes to pay for police, fire and teacher pensions.

Houston-area homebuyers snapped up a record number of houses in May and drove the region's median sales price to unprecedented levels.