Origination

Home sales in California are expected in increase in 2017 as price appreciation slows down, according to a forecast from the California Association of Realtors.

Mortgages jumped more than 20% to 7.4 million originations in 2015, reversing a more than 30% decrease a year earlier, according to housing finance data released Thursday. The data also found that nonbanks accounted for fully half of new mortgage originations — the largest proportion in over 20 years.

Department of Housing and Urban Development veteran Margaret Salazar will become the new director of Oregon Housing and Community Services Nov. 1.

Homes were less affordable than their historic averages in 24% of U.S. markets as prices rose and wage growth slowed, according to Attom Data Solutions.

IBM will purchase Promontory Financial Group — a consultancy so influential it has been dubbed the industry's "shadow regulator" — in a move that could extend artificial intelligence into every aspect of banking.

Mortgage rates fell as investors purchased more 10-year Treasury bonds after the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave short-term rates unchanged.

Granite Bank in Portsmouth, N.H., has acquired Cousins Home Lending.

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes fell to a seven-month low in August, held back by a tight supply in the housing market.

The red-hot growth in home prices across the West is starting to slow in some cities as sticker shock and low inventory put off weary buyers.

The Rural Housing Service has quietly launched a new construction loan program designed to increase the availability of new homes in rural areas.