Origination

JPMorgan Chase reported a 21% drop in year-over-year earnings for its mortgage business as revenue dropped 10%.

Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgages fell further this week due to overseas turmoil, according to Freddie Mac.

For luxury-home developers and brokers in Miami and Manhattan who are already contending with slumping prices and slowing demand, the U.S. government's decision to start scrutinizing all-cash buyers was more bad news.

BankUnited of Miami Lakes, Fla., has exited the retail mortgage origination channel.

Homeowners continue to have an overinflated sense of the value of their homes, at least compared to the opinion of professional appraisers, according to Quicken Loans.

U.S. lawmakers called for federal investigations into Clayton Homes, the mobile-home business at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, after the Seattle Times and BuzzFeed News wrote that the company targeted minority borrowers and charged them higher interest rates on average than whites.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has filed charges against three California-based home loan modification companies and nine of their employees for allegedly violating the Fair Housing Act.

Independent mortgage lenders are expecting a wave of consolidation prompted by excessive compliance costs, a tepid housing recovery and the need for more capital to grow their businesses. Roughly 20% to 25% of independent companies could be eliminated or change hands in less than two years.

President Obama's administration, citing concern about the origin of funds used for all-cash purchases of luxury real estate, said it is stepping up scrutiny of transactions in New York and Miami.

Social media offers a unique opportunity to make personal connections online, but mortgage lenders should tread lightly when using this channel as a lead source for new borrower prospects.