Economy

Banks' lowering of origination fees and loosening of underwriting standards often foreshadow a downturn.

From the heartland to the desert, here's a look at 10 housing markets where buyers are looking to move — and the high-cost markets they're leaving, according to Redfin.

The government-sponsored enterprises’ plan to cease accepting loans pegged to the London interbank offered rate a year ahead of its scheduled expiration is expected to hasten action in securitized markets.

Simon Property Group agreed to buy rival shopping-mall operator Taubman Centers for about $3.6 billion, a combination that comes as e-commerce continues to roil brick-and-mortar retail.

Consumer sentiment about purchasing a home nears its record high as almost half of those surveyed said mortgage rates will stay at the current low levels, according to Fannie Mae.

Galvanized by the Moms 4 Housing standoff that drew national attention to the region's affordability crisis, Oakland officials may soon overhaul the way homes are bought and sold and other Bay Area cities are considering similar measures.

Canadian builders began 2020 with a strong rebound in housing starts that is good news for the nation’s increasingly tight real estate markets.

Unexpected rate drops and other factors drove a surprising rebound in nonbank mortgage hiring during what is usually a slow season.

To paint nonbanks as a source of systemic risk, particularly given the track record of commercial banks in causing the 2008 subprime mortgage fiasco, seems absurd.

While loan officers will remain mortgage lenders' leading business development tool in the future, those originators believe business will come from a more diversified source pool, a Fannie Mae survey found.

Mortgage rates continued their slide this week, which along with positive economic news should continue to pump up purchase demand, according to Freddie Mac.

Mary Doenlen couldn't tell a judge why she stole over $130,000 from her employer. She wasn't in financial straits. She has a daughter, a husband and a sickly father to tend to.

Debt-to-income doesn't perfectly measure a borrower's likelihood of making timely mortgage payments, but it shouldn't be replaced as the ability-to-repay rule evolves, it should be made more flexible instead.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency plans to increase liquidity standards for nonbank conforming loan servicers, and at the same time raise the net worth requirements for those that also perform the function for Ginnie Mae.

In letters to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, six Democrats asked how the mortgage giants are factoring extreme weather into their risk modeling.

With policymakers focused on ending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s conservatorship, their regulator is reorganizing key units and adding staff to position itself for the long term.

The regulator said the investment bank and financial services company will help in the process of strengthening Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s capital standing for their eventual exit from conservatorship.

Negotiations went to the brink of a foreclosure trial for a Bradenton, Fla., mall, before a settlement was reached between the owners and the lender.

After maintaining a $250,000 exemption threshold for real estate appraisals for nearly 20 years, the National Credit Union Administration is set to raise that limit to $400,000.

The mortgage securitization market can expect some changes, particularly in the specified pool and to-be-announced markets, alongside a continuation of trends in other areas.