Origination

The Securities and Exchange Commission could hurt the housing recovery if it imposes tighter restrictions on real estate investment trusts that purchase and securitize mortgages, according to industry comments filed with the agency.

Despite continuing housing market and mortgage-related challenges, builder D.R. Horton Inc. generated profits in its fourth fiscal quarter and full fiscal year ending Sept. 30 that improved upon the same quarter last year but were lower than FY 2010.

The simplest things can often yield the greatest results. Or, ignoring them can mean negative implications, including losing sales opportunities.

Mortgage technology vendor Ellie Mae on Friday announced that it has promoted Jonathan Corr to chief operating officer.

Farmer Mac lost $23 million in the third quarter due to changes in the fair market value of its financial derivatives. But the company does not include its derivative positions in what it terms its core earnings, which showed a profit of $11 million, up from $8 million for the same period in 2010.

When it comes to analyzing mortgage origination numbers, it's a matter of relativity.

Radian Guaranty's efforts to build market share seem to be paying off in a big way. The company had nearly $2.1 billion of primary mortgage insurance written during October, up from $1.2 billion written for the same month one year prior.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage during the week ending Nov. 10 came in below 4% for the second time this year, remaining near record lows.

The residential mortgage-backed securities and related collateralized debt obligation sectors lead the pack in both realized and expected future credit losses from U.S. structured finance issuances, according to Fitch Ratings. But it added commercial MBS are expected to experience losses at a lower level than many may have anticipated.

Let me throw a National Association of Realtors statistic at you—70% of all first time homebuyers rented before buying their first home. So, when you market to apartment complexes, it's like shooting fish in a barrel, right?