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The administration is sending conflicting signals on whether it has a plan to overhaul the housing finance system, further complicating an already complex debate.

Mortgage insurer Radian Group was in takeover talks with an investor group earlier this month including Apollo Global Management and Centerbridge Partners, before discussions stalled over the terms of a potential deal.

With a growing market share of home sales and wider breadth of services, Redfin posted significant annual revenue gains.

HomeStreet Bank will attempt to sell its stand-alone mortgage business and portfolio of servicing rights, a move that comes amid growing pressure from an activist investor to exit home lending and concerns about declining demand and regulatory challenges.

Refinance volume slipped following growth in mortgage rates, and loans refinanced through the Home Affordable Housing Program barely made a dent in overall volume, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The government-sponsored enterprises are going through a transition period. From proposals for rebuilding their capital cushions to tackling shortages in affordable housing, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac face a number of key challenges with wide-ranging consequences this year.

The administration’s choice to regulate the government-sponsored enterprises appeared to distance himself from speculation that the White House may try to overhaul housing finance without legislation.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., told the mortgage giants' chief federal regulator that the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s new model for estimating loan losses could pose risk across the mortgage market.

Ginnie Mae should not overreact in supervising smaller, more diversified mortgage bankers, but rather scale its approach in line with the concentration of risk that different-sized servicers pose.

Taylor Morrison Home Corp. mortgage volume inched down during the fourth quarter, but is hoping a recently added rate-buydown feature could bolster future lending.