Origination

Home prices, which have fallen nearly 6% over the past four quarters (ending June 30), could fall another 3.6% by the second quarter of next year, according to analysts at Fiserv, which owns and generates the Case/Shiller house price indexes.

The Federal Housing Administration and Internal Revenue Service will begin allowing electronic signatures on FHA loan documents and the 4506-T form in 2012, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

MarketAxess, a U.S. and European fixed-income electronic trading platform, has made an initial foray into U.S. nonagency residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities markets that appears to be drawing some interest.

Ginnie Mae reported a $1.2 billion profit from its secondary market operations in fiscal year 2011 — up 84% from FY 2010 — due to lower loss provisioning.

MetLife has originated over $1.6 billion in agricultural mortgages in the first nine months of 2011. It provides mortgage loans on farms, ranches, timberland and agribusiness facilities throughout North America.

Presidential Realty Corp., a real estate investment trust based in White Plains, N.Y., has terminated its plan of liquidation and instead entered into a strategic transaction where affiliates of Signature Community Investment Group LLC acquired a significant interest in the company.

Ally Financial Inc. is actively considering putting its ailing Residential Capital Corp. mortgage lending unit into bankruptcy, according to a report from Dow Jones.

The Federal Housing Administration confirmed that it has hired a new multifamily director and a new chief risk officer.

For most Americans, paying for their children's' college education is a much higher priority than saving money for retirement or for dealing with future medical expenses. A study conducted by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. found that only three in 10 American parents feel they are adequately preparing for retirement.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is close to completing its redesign of the Good Faith Estimate form that home buyers receive after applying for a mortgage — but some industry groups believe the agency needs to test the disclosures on real loans.