Down payments

The California Housing Finance Agency helped a record number of low- and moderate-income residents purchase their first homes with help from its down payment assistance program.

Housing finance agencies reported increased demand for their loan products, but at the same time the inventory shortage constrains activity and drives them to work with other public entities to find solutions, Moody's said.

A new startup launched in the Bay Area says it can help buyers survive the region's cutthroat housing market by doing away with one of its biggest hurdles — a massive down payment.

Consumers' knowledge of the mortgage process and what it takes to purchase a home has not improved from four years ago and lenders have an opportunity to fill that need, Fannie Mae said.

With Sen. Elizabeth Warren's cancellation plan to alleviate student debt, millennials would save up for mortgage down payments three years sooner, according to Redfin.

Investors shouldn't overreact to the first-quarter shift in private mortgage insurer market share, said the CEO of the company that benefited most from the change.

Increased use of the digital mortgage process contributes to improved closing times, but falls short when it comes to borrower education, according to a TD Bank survey.

Delinquencies associated with the government-sponsored enterprises high loan-to-value ratio programs that target low-to-moderate income homebuyers are slightly better than expected, at least early on, according to Fitch.

In a weak first quarter, housing activity held up better for first-time homebuyers than others, according to a new Genworth Mortgage Insurance report.

One of the hardest financial parts of buying a new home is coming up with the initial down payment on the mortgage loan.