Origination

Last week, we reported in this space that a construction crane, the state bird of Florida, had landed in the Miami area. The crane hasn't been seen in these parts in several years, and some were saying it should be added to the endangered species list, if not named as extinct. Now, it appears a whole flock is returning.

SAN JOSE, CA—Almost all of the activity regarding regulation and legislation of mortgage origination activity is happening on the federal front, members of the California Association of Mortgage Professionals said at their annual convention here.

Specialty mortgage servicer Wingspan Portfolio Advisors says it is further expanding into new residential-related sectors, including technology and insurance.

The Washington and Baltimore markets closed out the summer home buying season with their best August in years, according to a pending sales index devised by the local multiple listing service.

Demand for Federal Housing Administration single-family loans slowed in July with residential lenders originating just $16 billion of government-backed product.

Identifying potential buybacks can be particularly challenging when refinancing application volume picks up as it did recently when rates dropped notably during a volatile period in the market.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is looking at raising the 125% LTV cap on refinancing underwater borrowers while considering other enhancements to the Home Affordable Refinancing Program, according to agency acting director Edward DeMarco.

Morgan Stanley & Co. this week took bids on its residential servicing division, Saxon Mortgage, Ft. Worth, Texas, which holds $28 billion of contracts on its books, according to M&A officials.

Further European concerns by around noon on Friday had brought the rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield back down near record lows seen earlier in the week and had had a somewhat mixed effect on industry stocks, some of which fared relatively well considering the Dow had dropped more than 300 points.

The size of the economic lift from any program to streamline refinancings is debatable, but the plunge in interest rates is already fattening mortgage production revenues.