Origination

The majority of Americans believe that home prices will either hold steady or increase over the next year but one-third said they would be more likely to rent their next home if they were to move. This view could hold back the housing recovery for the time being, but in the long term lead to a stronger marketplace, said an executive with Fannie Mae, which conducted the survey.

A study has found that residential mortgage loan officers who work for financial institutions saw a 17% increase in their total compensation over the past year.

New research from the National Association of Home Builders reveals that housing tax incentives benefit younger households the most. These borrowers typically have large mortgages, small amounts of equity in their homes and growing families.

Embrace Home Loans had eyed entering the retail branch business for some time, the company’s founder said, and measured its opportunity in terms of its viability.Dennis Hardiman, who is chief executive of the Newport, R.I.-based company, said that viability is measured as Embrace’s ability to come into the channel and compete favorably.

Home prices have risen for four straight months, but the rate of growth has slowed, according to new figures tracked through the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index.

In August I had the pleasure of attending the California Mortgage Bankers Association's sales and marketing show, which was co-presented with the California Association of Mortgage Professionals. Among the speakers were Deborah Shames and David Booth of Eloqui, who spoke of the need to create a connection with the client.

Another top official has left the warehouse lending department of Southwest Securities FSB, leaving the Dallas-based bank with just two sales associates, and a declining book of business.

Fairway Independent Mortgage is now providing outsourced mortgage services to other lenders, banks and credit unions.

Federal regulators implicitly rebutted the view that banks are refusing to take losses on second mortgages that are current but at risk of default.

A falling yield curve and the strong demand for product contributed to an increase in CRE loan prices in August, according to debt advisor DebtX.