Origination

Mortgage originators have a moment now that could be their defining moment in dealing with consumers, declared Barry Habib, one of the industry's top trainers. I had the opportunity to once again listen to Barry give his views on the mortgage market, this time at the Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations in Atlantic City.

The apartment market is recovering nicely and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are enjoying the ride.

The inaugural Zillow Rent Index shows "a healthy and growing rental market" across most of the country, even as home values continue to fall. And according to Zillow's chief economist Stan Humphries, rents are not rising at the expense of home values. "The opposite is true."

Two small Massachusetts mutual thrifts are planning to join forces in hopes of gaining the scale to better compete against larger lenders.

GMAC Mortgage has hired another former top executive from MetLife Home Loans, this time Randy Levine, who will serve as Southwest regional manager for the national lender.

It's one thing for consumers to vote for the lender which offers the best customer service, but it's a step up when the ballots are cast by a company which earns its own reputation on the reputation of the companies with which it does business.

The size of the residential loan market over the short-term will be determined by the definition of 'qualified mortgage,' which is more important to the industry than the definition of 'qualified residential mortgage,' declared a top lending executive for BB&T speaking at the Regional Conference of the Mortgage Bankers Association in Atlantic City.

The National Council on Aging has created a new website, http://www.HomeEquityAdvisor.org, to help older adults make informed decisions regarding using their home as a tool to help finance their retirement lifestyle.

In my last article I started by saying that whether you like it are not, you are a manager. The only question: Are you a good manager?

Don't count the mortgage brokerage sector out quite yet. Brokers captured 11.4% of the origination market in the fourth quarter, the highest market share reading since the third quarter of 2010, according to exclusive survey figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.