Origination

Builders pulled back on the construction of single-family homes in February but forged ahead with multifamily starts, according to new government figures released Tuesday morning.

The correspondent lending arm of Wells Fargo Bank this week began publishing a list of third-party originators that it will no longer buy loans from in the secondary market -- as a way to address what it calls "risks" in loan origination.

Congress has restored a housing counseling fund for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after eliminating it in 2011 and at almost half of the $88 million approved during the first two years of the Obama administration. Now HUD officials worry about the amount of settlement dollars to be used for counseling.

Over the past week the interest rate on certain loans have risen by up to 50 basis points, but the residential finance industry is hardly panicking, at least not yet.

Canada's Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions has drafted a proposed set of guidelines for sound residential mortgage underwriting practices.

There is a significant disconnect in the jumbo mortgage space between the primary and the secondary markets. Since the implosion of financial markets in the fall of 2008 the once-thriving and vibrant non-agency MBS market has evaporated. Despite some attempts to resuscitate the jumbo secondary, the gulf between investor needs and what consumers want remains large.

As more submissions come in for our Top 150 Originator list, preliminary data shows we have a new leading producer for 2011. He is Eric Magee of Union Bank, with total volume of $234 million.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ - The qualified mortgage definition, which should come out next month from the Consumer Financial Protection Board, needs to be carefully crafted, otherwise it will affect credit availability and affordability, said the regulatory counsel for the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Declining mortgage rates during the fourth quarter fired up refinancings of high LTV loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to new Home Affordable Refinancing Program figures released Monday afternoon.

Freddie Mac's first offering of structured pass-through "K" certificates backed exclusively by multifamily mortgages with a five-year term is in the works this week, and is expected to settle on or about April 11.