Origination

Under the Federal Housing Finance Agency's new mortgage modification program, less than 1% of all seriously underwater properties might qualify for principal loan forgiveness, according to RealtyTrac.

PHH Corp. reported a first-quarter loss of $30 million, which included a $10 million pretax adjustment to the value of its mortgage servicing rights.

New rules have made it more challenging to originate mortgages without drawing attention from regulators. Mercantile Bank in Michigan, however, believes that positive trends in its biggest markets are incentive enough to hire lenders and improve its systems.

Social Finance Inc., whose loan originations have been concentrated in the non-qualified mortgage space, will now offer conforming products after receiving Fannie Mae seller/servicer approval.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Wednesday it had raised a cap on the amount of multifamily loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy from lenders, boosting it to $35 billion effective immediately.

Freddie Mac's second quarterly loss in less than a year makes it clear profitability is getting tougher as it shrinks. But it's a concern that must be weighed against more long-term efforts to reduce Freddie's overall credit risk exposure.

Mortgage applications dipped 3.4% from a week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The mortgage upstarts that transformed the industry after the U.S. housing crash are now facing their own shakeout.

At least one banker has gone public with expectations that the OCC will force his institution to hold more capital. More could soon follow.

Home prices continued to increase nationwide in March, led by double-digit percent gains in Western states, according to the CoreLogic.