Origination

More than 90% of the nearly 49,000 condominium units built in South Florida since the real estate boom began in 2003 have been sold. But that still leaves about 4,700 units to go.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's authority to finalize an "ability to repay" standard for lenders is being questioned, a situation that likely will slow efforts by other regulators working on a rule that exempts certain high qualify mortgages from risk retention.

Only one county in the country, Fairfield, Conn., will have a higher conforming loan limit in 2012. The ceiling in the other 3,200-plus counties will remain unchanged.

Fannie Mae recently told its seller/servicers that all mortgage insurance rescissions, cancellations and claim denials tied to loans it bought must be reported to the agency immediately.

Even with the housing market stabilizing and a settlement between megaservicers and state AGs on the horizon, the mortgage industry shouldn't expect an increase in originations next year, according to a new forecast from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Craig Cole, a former mortgage production chief who recently retired from Union Bank, San Francisco, has launched a new consulting firm to advise clients on their jumbo lending and execution strategies.

The deadline to nominate industry professionals to serve on MISMO's residential governance committee is today.

Although insurance giant MetLife Inc. is contemplating bids for its banking and mortgage divisions, the company's warehouse lending unit is nearing the $1 billion mark in terms of commitments.

Perhaps the future for loan brokers isn't so bleak after all. Wholesale lenders table funded almost $33 billion of loans in the third quarter, giving the channel a 9.2% market share, according to new figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

Barclays Capital has a cautious outlook for both residential and commercial mortgage credit, its researchers indicated in their global outlook report Thursday.