Origination

Over the past 18 months, KB Home experienced a “great deal of disruption” as Bank of America and MetLife curtained their lending mortgage activities.

Accurate disclosure of fees topped access to rates without having to disclose personal information in what American consumers most want in a mortgage shopping website.

Saudi Arabia’s mortgage law, approved two days ago after more than a decade of debate, will encourage banks to expand lending in a $16 billion market that now accounts for less than 4% of all home purchases.

It’s no secret that the mortgage industry – loan brokers in particular – hate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s loan officer compensation proposal, especially any language that offers ‘flat fee’ payments to companies or originators. Comments about the proposal are still being filed and some trade group officials (speaking off-the-record) contend that the “fix is in” and that the young agency is more concerned with meeting the rule making deadline of early 2013 instead of “getting it right.”

China’s new home prices rose for the first time in 10 months as the government eased its monetary policies to bolster the economy.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage during the week ending July 5 dropped by four basis points to yet another record low of 3.62%.

A decline in applications for government-insured mortgage loans helped to drag down total loan application volume by 6.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended June 29.

Financial institutions that limit their social media strategies to Twitter and Facebook are also limiting their potential.

Amid growing controversy fueled in part by the new mortgage servicing rules to be finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau next year, the debate over the validity of lender-placed insurance is in full swing and expected to continue.

Most insiders support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's plan to give lender-placed insurance a makeover.