Origination

WASHINGTON—A “small fraction” of the nation’s 3,000-plus counties will be impacted when the formula that determines the conforming loan limit changes on Oct. 1., according to an analysis by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Among the headlines from the recent Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference in New York is that economists from the trade group have declared that the refinance boom is dead.

An over-concentration of subprime mortgage-backed securities caused the failure of Members United Corporate Federal Credit Union, the one-time $14 billion corporate CU that is restructuring itself, the National Credit Union Administration said in a new report issued late Monday night.

PSM Holdings, Roswell, N.M., has signed a letter of intent to acquire Brookside Mortgage LLC, a mortgage banker/broker based in Tulsa, Okla.

Redwood Trust Inc., Mill Valley, Calif., earned $18 million in the first quarter, a 61% decline from the same period a year ago as lower net interest revenue and negative valuation adjustments took a bite out of its performance.

Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Milwaukee, reported it had nearly 1,100 more cures than new notices of default for April, the third month in a row this has happened.

Home values showed the sharpest quarterly declines since 2008, falling 3% in the first quarter this year, according to Zillow’s real estate market report.

Gramercy Capital Corp., New York, has defaulted on $791 million in first mortgage and mezzanine loans, as the loans reached their latest maturity date without a payment being made.

DALLAS—Consumers’ sense of obligation to the mortgage contract remains strong, according to the results of a market research survey conducted last summer on behalf of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Freddie Mac expects to price an offering of about $1.1 billion in structured multifamily mortgage pass through securities during the week of May 16 for settlement on May 26 or thereabouts.