Origination

Single-family housing starts rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 452,000 units in September, a slight increase from the prior month, and a sign that home building may finally be improving, but at anemic levels.

WASHINGTON—The Federal Housing Administration is clarifying its indemnification policies to give its largest lenders a better understanding of when they might be on the hook for loan losses.The Department of Housing and Urban Development generally requires lenders to reimburse the FHA for losses on defaulted loans when the agency can prove poor underwriting or fraud.

Many small business owners use a credit card opened in the name of their firm to buy things for their company. But a new federal law that regulates rates and fees on consumer credit cards does not cover these cards.

The California Association of Realtors plans to renew its fight next year for a mortgage bill that was recently vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, CA-NAR officials said.

The Rural Housing Service has updated its automated underwriting system to process purchase money loans and will do the same for refinancings.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ—If a mortgage broker has built a successful business based on getting leads from local people, the changes coming in the new regulatory environment should not impact you, a long-time executive at a bank-owned mortgage banker said.

Builder confidence in the single family housing market rose slightly during October, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders.

The residential lending arm of Citicorp funded $18.6 billion of one- to four-family mortgages in the third quarter, an impressive 66% gain from the prior period, according to figures released Monday morning.

An ex-real estate executive gives mortgage originators words of wisdom he learned from his father in a business downturn.Even though today’s real estate crisis is reportedly one of proportions unseen before, the truth is there are lessons to be learned from the past, the opening keynote speaker at the California Mortgage Bankers Association’s Annual Sales & Marketing Conference said.

The California housing market is transitioning from the conclusion of housing tax credits as is evident by stronger home sales in the higher-price range and weaker sales in entry-level homes and condominiums, which are typically favored by first-time homebuyers, according to the president and chief economist of the California Association of Realtors.