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The housing market remains "depressed" and the Federal Reserve Board will continue to keep interest rates low for an extended period of time, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said.

Fitch Ratings has given the State of New York Mortgage Agency mortgage insurance fund's insurance accounts a negative outlook while at the same time affirming its ratings.

Fitch Ratings, New York, has downgraded 439 bonds in 244 residential mortgage-backed securities transactions to "Dsf." The rating agency explained that the downgraded bonds have all incurred a principal write-down.

The price of commercial real estate loans that are securitized dropped a mere 10 basis points between February and March, showing signs of stabilization in the market, an expert said.

If you listen to the brokerage community, especially their trade group officials, the new loan officer compensation rules spell disaster for third-party mortgage salesmen. But for retail LOs working at firms that actually fund mortgages (as opposed to brokering them) the outlook is unclear. In fact, when it comes to LO dollars earned, it may even be a wash.

Flagstar Bancorp Inc. lost $32 million in the first quarter, an improvement over a $192 million loss in the fourth quarter 2010 and $82 million in the first quarter 2010. Company management cited four consecutive quarters of declining credit costs as one reason for the improvement.

WASHINGTON—The White House and Congress recently agreed to cut $88 million in housing counseling funds as part of a budget deal, but supporters of a separate foreclosure counseling program are hoping it will be spared the axe.

Mortgage application volume decreased by 5.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended April 22 as the previous week's volume was boosted by consumers looking to beat the deadline for a Federal Housing Agency mortgage insurance premium increase, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The group added that the week's data was not adjusted to take Good Friday into account.

In case you are just tuning into this series of articles we have been covering a very important marketing lesson, one that might explain why your current marketing efforts may not be working. We have discussed the market and how important it is for you to know your market.

Freddie Mac reported a 38% drop in refinancing volumes in March from the previous month and a corresponding 33% drop in MBS issuance, providing more evidence of the slowdown in mortgage lending.