Origination

Quarterly profit fell at SunTrust Banks in Atlanta as noninterest expense rose 8.4% and its loan-loss provision increased.

The Connecticut bank said a spike in business lending and residential mortgages gave its fourth-quarter earnings a boost.

As the country's homes for sale inventory declines, prices and the percentage of homes going under contract quickly are rising, according to Redfin.

Fourth-quarter profits at Wintrust Financial in Rosemont, Ill., climbed 65% to $54.6 million from a year earlier, helped largely by acquisitions and increases in mortgage banking and other fee income.

In his confirmation hearing, Treasury Secretary-designate Steven Mnuchin said he wanted to work with both parties to find a "bipartisan fix" for the housing finance system.

The increase for the month represented the fastest annual pace of appreciation recorded in 2016.

Commercial real estate loan growth and the Hudson City acquisition fueled fourth-quarter profit growth at M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y.

Mortgage interest rates dropped for the third consecutive week but remain higher than they were one year ago, according to Freddie Mac.

MGIC Investment Corp. reported net income of $107.5 million for the fourth quarter, an increase of nearly 5% over the $102.4 million earned in the same period of 2015.

Builders broke ground on more homes than forecast in December as a jump in apartment construction helped cap the seventh straight yearly increase, a report from the Commerce Department showed Thursday.