Origination

The Villages, an active-adult property west of Orlando, was the country's best selling master planned community in 2012, according to data collected by John Burns Real Estate Consulting.

Astoria Federal Financial Corp., one of the nation's largest thrifts, posted a net profit of $11.8 million in the fourth quarter, almost half of what it earned in the same period in 2010.

A major hurdle for the mortgage industry in 2011 that may continue to pose a significant risk this year is ineffective quality control. Interthinx identified two defects in the outsourced quality control programs of lenders that affected residential mortgage loan files—missing documentation and inaccurate information.

California's home builders suffered through their third lowest year on record in 2011. The only thing that kept the year from being worse was the apartment sector, which rose sharply.

The Federal Reserve will not sell any of its massive holdings of agency MBS and Treasuries until 2015 as it strives to keep interest rates low, central bank officials said Wednesday afternoon.

Delinquencies on mortgages controlled by Freddie Mac rose to 3.58% in December, the highest reading in nine months for the GSE, and a sign that it likely will continue to post operating losses in the immediate quarters ahead.

Home prices rebounded in November with values falling in only one of the nine regions tracked by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Radian Group Inc., Philadelphia, has entered into a series of transactions with Assured Guaranty Ltd., Hamilton, Bermuda, which will eventually add $100 million to its mortgage insurance subsidiary's statutory capital.

Economists at the National Association of Realtors are forecasting an almost 7% increase in existing home sales in 2012, following a 2% improvement last year.

GNMA chief Ted Tozer has been trying in vain to get more mortgage firms to issue MBS, but Wells Fargo & Co. continues to increase its grip on the government market.