Origination

Your mortgage marketing strategy and brand must evoke trust because of the people who were in the business only to make a buck during the boom.

Most of what I've been visiting with you about in this series has been about conversion, since I expect it to be the word of the year for 2014.

Mortgage applications increased 5.3% for the week ending May 2, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Lenders are touting these loans to independent originators as an alternative way to make money in a new regulatory environment where the qualified mortgage rule caps salespeople's pay.

The $305 million deal will give the mortgage insurance company another source of capital to support its operations.

The fate of low-income and minority families under housing finance reform remains at the heart of negotiations over a Senate bill, highlighting a longstanding split between advocates pushing for affordable rental options and those urging access to homeownership.

Like other parts of the real estate finance business, appraisal management companies are dealing with increased costs and less income.

Commercial and multifamily mortgage loan originations fell by 45% in the first quarter from the previous quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Bill Ackman, who runs the $15 billion Pershing Square Capital Management, said that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will probably soar because there's no way to replace the mortgage guarantee companies.

The title giant is betting it can capitalize on growing demand for technologies that will help lenders stay competitive. The challenge will be doing so without getting stung itself by the industry's regulatory and volume problems.