Origination

The private mortgage insurers' cure/default ratio for March was at an all-time high, at 143.9%, according to the latest monthly data from the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America.

It's becoming more and more obvious to me that the real secret of success isn't in making accurate predictions then acting on them. Instead, it's in experimenting with various approaches and reinforcing those that seem to be working. Success comes as the result of trial and error and doubling up on the ideas that work, rather than the common belief in prescience and acumen.

The analysts at FBR Capital Markets have upgraded Flagstar Bancorp to "outperform" from "market perform," even though the company's first quarter loss was worse than they had predicted.

A pair of the nation's largest title insurers, First American Financial Corp. and Stewart Information Services Corp., reported net losses for the first quarter. Meanwhile, while the title insurance operations at Old Republic International Corp. were profitable, the mortgage insurance subsidiary posted an operating loss, contributing to the parent company's net loss.

Average mortgage rates continued to follow Treasury bond yields a bit lower for the second consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac’s closely watched survey.

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The Realtors' leading indicator of future home sales jumped 5.1% in March -- signaling a possible uptick in sales for April and May.

The biggest compliant when is ask if a loan originator is doing anything with social media is—“Yeah, I know I need to do it—but can’t seem to find the time!”

Federal Housing Administration endorsements of single-family loans fell 24% in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter, as the slowdown in lending is even affecting low-downpayment products.

Six years ago, when the market was flying down the road in overdrive, economist Mark Zandi drew the ire of home builders when he predicted housing was about to drive off a cliff. Now, Zandi's singing a different tune. And the builders love it.