Coronavirus

Houston home sales plunged more than 20% in April from year-ago figures as sellers took properties off the market and buyers stayed home through the coronavirus-induced shutdown.

Financial institutions have been monitoring workers' productivity at home with tracking software and webcams. Now they're mulling whether to mandate contact-tracing apps, COVID-19 testing and other practices that could raise further privacy issues.

The government-sponsored enterprises have set new temporary limits on mortgage sales while extending processing flexibilities related to COVID-19.

With mortgage rates plummeting, the refinance share of closed loans from millennial borrowers rose for the third straight month, to the highest level since Ellie Mae began tracking the data in 2016.

A once-in-a-century pandemic, widespread lockdowns and economic woe — none of it was enough to keep Bay Area home prices from going up.

After a March that still showed some signs of normalcy, April was less kind to Tampa Bay's real estate market as the coronavirus pandemic continued to plummet consumer confidence and disrupt the economy in new and dramatic ways.

Some benefits are materializing from Fannie Mae's pledge to limit servicers' exposure to principal-and-interest advances the way Freddie Mac does, but counterparties of both GSEs remain exposed to other concerns.

But Black Knight and Arch Capital's mortgage insurance business aren't as affected, at least so far.

Guild Mortgage's presence in Washington state, the epicenter of the first U.S. outbreak, gave it an early glimpse of the obstacles ahead.

Houston real estate agent Tim Surratt decided late last week to hold his first open house since the coronavirus pandemic broke out.

This scenario has been seen before. A sudden shock to the economy. Jobs lost. Lenders in trouble.

The total coronavirus-related mortgages in forbearance grew by 55 basis points, in lockstep with rising unemployment claims, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

With unemployment mounting, new mortgage forbearance requests could sharply increase in early May when payments are due.

Mortgage lenders have imposed steep pricing adjustments for cash-out refinancing as more borrowers seek forbearance.

Lenders implemented stricter underwriting across all loan types in the first quarter as the pandemic upended the economy, the Federal Reserve said in its survey of loan officers.

Less competition in the marketplace meant customers were less apt to fudge the truth on a loan application.

The Federal Reserve's emergency rescue of the U.S. mortgage market should have set off celebration among lenders trying to keep up with demand from borrowers. Instead, executives at Quicken Loans got a hefty margin call.

The Palm Beach, Fla., real estate market entered the season last fall with a strong wind at its back.

Jay Bray speaks about the company's experience in working with distressed borrowers going back to the Great Recession.

Credit inquiries for auto lending, revolving credit cards and mortgages fell sharply in March as unemployment surged, according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report.