Data and information management

Sales of previously owned homes climbed in June to an eight-month high as more listings helped prices cool, luring buyers into the market.

Washington Trust rode gains in its lending portfolio and lower operating expenses to a higher second-quarter profit.

Mortgage origination volume for the second quarter will come in at $275 billion, a 17% increase from the previous quarter driven by a seasonal increase in purchase activity, according to Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analysts.

Peoples Bancorp reported higher earnings in the second quarter than a year earlier thanks to a stronger loan portfolio.

Republic Bancorp reported a slight bump in second-profits due to modest loan growth but results were tempered somewhat by a sharp drop in mortgage banking income.

Second-quarter earnings nearly doubled at Home Loan Servicing Solutions, despite a significant jump in operating expenses, as prepayments remained low and the rate of liquidations of seriously delinquent loans recovered.

Wells Fargo & Co. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. , the behemoths of the U.S. mortgage market, are surrendering more business to nonbank lenders.

Property valuation fraud risk in the first quarter was up from a year ago, while mortgage fraud risk remained unchanged, according to an Interthinx report.

Beginning home construction unexpectedly declined in June to a nine-month low as a record plunge in the South swamped gains in the rest of the U.S.

Confidence among homebuilders rose more than forecast in July, reaching the highest level in six months, as growing payrolls brightened the outlook after a shaky first half.

Mortgage applications decreased last week from the previous week, led by a drop in purchase loan requests.

The improvements in CMBS delinquency rates could reverse, the ratings agency cautioned, if applications for large servicing transfers and loan modifications are declined in the coming month.

Wells Fargo executives said they support federal regulators' effort to expand mortgage credit availability but cautioned that it will produce little benefit for the bank's, or the industry's, bottom line.

Applications for loans to purchase newly constructed homes were down 5% in June from the month before, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data.

Churchill Mortgage has launched an employee training program that focuses on the housing needs of borrowers who are 18 to 34 years old.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans rose for the first time in four weeks, increasing borrowing costs as job creation bolsters the housing recovery.

Mortgage applications rose last week led by an uptick in purchases even as 30-year interest rates climbed.

The nation's inventory of homes in some stage of foreclosure declined 4.8% in May from April, the 31st straight month-to-month drop, CoreLogic reported.

Consumer confidence about homeownership and the general economy have improved over the last four years, but a return to "normal" housing levels will still take a long time, according to a Fannie Mae survey.

Small lenders filled 200 positions in May after slashing their payrolls by 10,000 workers this year, the new government jobs report shows.