Secondary

Lenders who employ a technology stack that tracks, collects and analyzes homebuyer behavior will have a distinct advantage as application volume rises.

After the government-sponsored enterprise patch expires, "near prime" loans over the 43% debt-to-income ratio should be qualified mortgages if they have compensating factors, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.

Builder MDC Holdings' preliminary numbers for net new home orders registered their highest quarterly increase in years, adding to signs of growing demand for housing.

While mortgage rate optimism kept consumer confidence about the home purchase market high in June, affordability worries pulled overall sentiment lower, a Fannie Mae survey said.

The post-crisis operational improvements at both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have resulted in stronger mortgage loan performance, a Fitch Ratings report said.

Mortgage rates ticked up slightly this week with opposing trends in the stock and bond markets fighting for dominance, according to Freddie Mac.

Mortgage lenders might be feeling a little less stressed over False Claims Act actions being brought against them following recent headlines but there is still some work to be done before they can chill out.

Mortgages using alternative documentation like bank statements for underwriting performed stronger than expected, but uncertainty remains about their default rates in stressed environments, Fitch Ratings said.

Former Freddie Mac CEO Donald Layton has joined the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies as a senior industry fellow focused on reform of the government-sponsored enterprises.

Genworth Financial is marketing its stake in Genworth MI Canada in a possible last-ditch effort to save the long-delayed proposed acquisition by China Oceanwide.