Origination

Applications for new home purchases picked up in October, particularly for higher-priced properties, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Nonbank mortgage lender loanDepot has reached an agreement to acquire Mortgage Master.

The Rural Housing Service has said it will stop accepting new mortgage applications for one week in an effort to clear through its huge backlog.

A new multifamily investment product will for the first time allow Freddie Mac to buy and guarantee bonds backed by multifamily loans that were originally underwritten by private entities.

One-third of the nation's counties now have access to e-recording software, according to the Property Records Industry Association,

Bank of America, which paid more in legal settlements tied to the U.S. housing collapse than any other company, will avoid easing mortgage standards even as regulators seek to expand lending, Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan said.

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider a case related to the use of disparate impact theory to charge organizations with discrimination under the Fair Housing Act.

Mortgage applications declined for the third consecutive week as fewer borrowers are choosing to refinance due to rising interest rates.

A renewed interest in subdivisions that stalled during the recession is likely the main reason the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission reported doubling of refunding volume in land-secured Mello-Roos bonds from fiscal year 2011-12 to 2012-13, according to government consultant Larry Kosmont.

Home values in major metro areas across the country continued to climb in October, according to Quicken Loans.