Economy

Fannie Mae is increasing the maximum debt-to-income ratio it will allow on purchased loans to 50% from 45% on single-family loans when it rolls out its latest version of Desktop Underwriter on July 29.

When market prices rise faster than comparable home sales values it is imperative for lenders to ensure property valuations are accurate, support the sales price and completed in a timely fashion to keep deals from falling through. (Part four in a four-part series on the mortgage industry's response to the housing inventory shortage.)

Two reports this week are singing harmony about the metro Atlanta housing market: there are fewer homes sold, while the ones that are selling are going for higher prices.

Former Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer is joining the board of directors at PennyMac Financial Services starting Aug. 1.

The share of closed purchase loans remained flat in June, affected by the lack of homes for sale, according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight report.

California Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders announced that the state's housing crisis will be at the top of their agenda when lawmakers return in August from a month-long break.

Home sales — and prices — reached a new high in the Twin Cities area last month, but the dearth of listings continued and may soon put a brake on deals.

Residential construction ended the second quarter on a stronger note as groundbreaking on new homes rebounded in June to the fastest annualized pace in four months.

Canadians may be shouldering near-record household debt but homeowners have been managing it better than those that don't own property.

Last month's spike in defaults due to loans maturing drove the greatest month-over-month surge of U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquencies in six years, according to Fitch Ratings.

A decade after the summer of '07, when Orlando real estate began a years-long crash, median home prices have not returned to their high but continued to rise incrementally.

Wage gains have fallen far behind skyrocketing costs for housing, a gap that's emerged despite a robust job market in recent years, according to an unsettling report released Monday.

The Georgia company made more loans and controlled costs. As a result, it had a 1% return on assets and an efficiency ratio below 60%.

Loan application activity for the purchase of newly constructed homes decreased 4% in June from the previous month, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Canadian home sales fell 6.7% in June from the previous month, led by a 15.1% decline in transactions in the once-surging market of Toronto.

Last month, Natalie and David Buckholdt were searching for a home to rent in Lima, Ohio, where David was being transferred.

When Suna and Robert Shaw bought their previous home in Windham in 2004, the process was akin to taking a leisurely stroll.

Finding a place to live in Brooklyn is easy if you want to rent a home — not so much if you want to buy one.

Expenses also rose, as well as the provision for loan losses, but credit quality remained spotless at the lender to the wealthy.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has added three categories to the list of protected classes under equal opportunity employment and inclusion rules for regulated entities.