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Curt Culver has got a lot to keep him busy after he steps down as Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp.'s CEO, including serving on the board of his family's eponymous restaurant chain.

Mortgage companies must properly vet their third-party vendors to ensure that there is no litigation, fraud allegations, or other risky behavior that might create risk for them.

Purchases of previously owned homes dropped more than forecast in November as residential real estate struggles to sustain its recovery even as borrowing costs remain low.

Recent data from Freddie Mac has provided new insights into loan losses across different mortgage types, Fitch Ratings said in a press release Thursday.

A former Jefferies & Co. managing director convicted of fraud for lying to customers about the price of mortgage-backed securities sued the AllianceBernstein Holding LP executive who reported him.

Fannie Mae veteran Karen Pallotta has joined Redwood Trust's board of directors. Pallotta's recent role at Fannie was as executive vice president of the single-family credit guaranty business, which she assumed during the height of the financial crisis.

The Federal Housing Administration is facing severe challenges next year as some pressure it to lower premiums to deal with new competition from the government-sponsored enterprises, even while its insurance fund remains weak and it faces added scrutiny from GOP lawmakers.

Seer Capital Management is getting more bullish on U.S. commercial real estate. The $2.1 billion hedge fund firm, started by ex-Deutsche Bank AG executive Phillip Weingord, is planning a fund dedicated solely to buying the riskiest pieces of bonds backed by commercial properties, according to a presentation, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., along with 17 other Democratic senators, is urging Department of Housing and Urban Development officials to consider a reduction in FHA mortgage insurance premiums.

Yields on government-backed mortgage securities narrowed to the least relative to benchmark debt in more than two years, cushioning the blow of a slump in Treasuries for homebuyers.