Origination

The National Association of Home Builders is developing an index of "healing housing markets" in an attempt to offset the negative press that casts a pall over the entire sector whenever national price statistics are released.

To read the recent coverage of homeownership, one would think that this lynchpin of the nation’s housing market has moved from Jimmy Stewart’s Main Street to Freddie Krueger’s Elm Street; that what was once the cornerstone of the American dream has become a nightmare.

The House of Representatives late Thursday passed a bill to convert the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau into a five-member commission, giving Congress more leeway over how the new agency operates.

Enlightened leaders over the past two years became aware of the need for resilience, and restructuring their organizations for a period of survival and stabilization. Now leaders must rebound and take the next steps for a sustainable future. They must refocus, inspire and innovate to lead successfully and grow their business.

Astoria Financial Corp., Lake Success, N.Y., is predicting its balance sheet will grow during the second-half as residential conforming loan limits are reduced – which helps its retained portfolio – and it reenters the multifamily space.

It appears that the sacred cow known as the mortgage interest deduction is on the table as the White House and Congress grapple on a budget deal to lift the federal debt ceiling.

Home prices rose 0.4% in May after a 0.2% increase in April, according to new figures compiled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

A funny thing happened on the way to the mortgage banking sector being restructured: everyone and their brother is now eyeing the concept of correspondent lending.

Insurance giant MetLife Inc. said Thursday it plans to sell its banking affiliate but will remain in the residential finance and servicing business through its MetLife Home Loans division.

Most mortgage rates inched up ever so slightly for the period ending July 21, according to a new Freddie Mac market survey. At press time that upward pressure continued with the benchmark 10-year Treasury yielding 2.99%.