Economy

After a September dip, the Central Texas housing market got off to a strong start in the fourth quarter, as home sales bounced back to hit a record high for October, the latest figures show.

Falling oil prices and continued volatility in the stock market resulted in the largest week-to-week decline in mortgage rates in over three years, according to Freddie Mac.

The effort to raise the threshold for transactions excused from appraisal requirements responds to concerns that the current threshold is outpaced by real estate prices.

Freddie Mac is expanding its Home Possible loan program to allow borrowers in rural locations to use "sweat equity" for down payments and closing expenses.

Fannie Mae's economic growth forecast for 2018 inched up slightly, but a strong labor market won't mean the same positive results for housing.

Carrington Mortgage Services has created a nondelegated correspondent channel, looking to build on relationships it has with originators that currently broker loans to the company.

The end of one-party rule in Washington could move the needle on efforts to devise a new housing finance framework.

A U.S. regulator's plan to boost capital in the mortgage-finance giants won't work unless investors get "compensated" for the billions of dollars the government has collected from the companies in recent years, one shareholder said.

Challenges will likely increase as interest rates rise and investors grow more concerned about a downward turn in the economic cycle.

Ginnie Mae is adding steps to its process for evaluating new issuers, including new notification requirements related to subservicer advances, servicing income, and borrowing facilities secured by mortgage servicing rights.

Borrowers buying new homes produced fewer loan applications than they did a year earlier due to October's rising interest rates.

In the latest example of how companies that control a significant portion of the home buying process can weave digital innovations throughout the customer experience, online real estate and mortgage company Redfin will implement electronic closing technology from Notarize.

FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams questioned whether regulators and banks are fully capturing the emerging risks of a new shadow banking system.

Fannie Mae completed 10 traditional and front-end credit risk insurance transactions during 2018, sharing $2.6 billion of risk, including $192 million in its final deal of the year.

After last week's surge of 11 basis points, mortgage rates held steady due to a dip in energy costs, even with continued stock market volatility, according to Freddie Mac.

The move allows the New York multifamily lender to make more loans without having to raise capital.

Wells Fargo & Co. raised its required down payment for homebuyers in Connecticut's Fairfield County to 25% from the standard 20% after it categorized the area as distressed.

Amazon's new HQ2 facilities in New York City and Washington, D.C., will create a flurry of housing and mortgage activity. But the direct benefits to mortgage lenders won't be as significant as they could've been in many of the other cities on Amazon's list of 20 finalists.

Borrowers will get more leeway to finance energy- and water-efficient improvements under a new program coming from Freddie Mac.

Online personal lending pioneer Prosper is developing a home equity line of credit product that it will offer in partnership with banks. The embrace of traditional depositories marks a departure from fintech lenders that typically seek to disrupt and displace legacy institutions.