Origination

Bank of Botetourt in Buchanan, Va., said Thursday it has opened a mortgage division to pursue unmet demand for home loans in southwestern Virginia.

Mortgage rates fell for the sixth straight week as market volatility continued, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The financial crisis turned a lot of Americans into renters, because they couldn’t keep paying their mortgage, or because high unemployment and stagnant wages in the ensuing years forced them to put off homeownership.

The Federal Home Loan Bank system is not a private country club and shouldn't be operating as one. Captive insurance companies represent new potential to expand homeownership opportunities for credit-worthy borrowers.

Strong demand for rentals will keep pace with new construction over the next few years, the government-sponsored enterprise says.

Higher refinancing activity helped fuel an increase in overall application activity for the week ending Feb. 5, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Redwood Trust said it will stop originating commercial mortgages for securitization and focus solely on investing in bonds backed by commercial mortgages originated by others.

There were 3.1 million homes and condos sold during 2015, a nine-year high. From the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul to Salem, the capitol of Oregon, here's a look at the 10 markets with the biggest year-over-year percent increases in home sales.

Home prices rose in 81% of U.S. metropolitan areas in the fourth quarter, even as the pace of sales slowed from earlier in the year, the National Association of Realtors said.

Arch's mortgage insurance unit saw an increase of over 1,000% in fourth-quarter underwriting income due to a significant decline in losses and loss-adjustment expenses.