Origination

Application volume fell by 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Nov. 18, as purchase apps were up to their highest level since August, but refinancings were down to their lowest point since July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The data for the previous week (Nov. 11) was adjusted to take into account Veterans Day.

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.

For the third consecutive month, builders in California pulled an increasing number of permits compared to the previous year.

Americans' confidence in their future retirement lifestyle reached a four-year low according to Sun Life Financial's Unretirement Index.Only 23% of those surveyed felt very confident they will be able to meet their basic living expenses in retirement. In the 2010 study, this number was 42%. Furthermore, one in five feel they will never be able to retire.

With the current low interest rate environment, a financial planner is saying unorthodox income-planning strategies need to be considered, such as using IRA or 401(k) funds sooner in the retirement timeframe to avoid drawing on Social Security benefits earlier than necessary.

Innkeepers USA Trust has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by completing the sale of 64 of its hotels to a joint venture between the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management and the real estate investment trust Chatham Lodging Trust.

Single-family originations by commercial banks and savings institutions jumped almost 17% in the third quarter from the prior period, but compared to a year ago production is down 23%, according to new figures released by the FDIC.

Big banks are fleeing the reverse mortgage industry, leaving specialty lenders with more business than they know what to do with.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has reached a settlement with Wells Investment Securities Inc., where the latter will pay a $300,000 fine for using misleading marketing materials in the sale of Wells Timberland REIT Inc., a non-traded real estate investment trust.

A whistleblower lawsuit filed by two mortgage brokers has been unsealed in Federal District Court in Atlanta claiming that 13 banks and mortgage companies have cheated veterans out of hundreds of millions of dollars.