Economy

Housing and Urban Development Secretary-designate Ben Carson is open to finding alternatives to the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but believes there must be some government backstop to the housing market.

Homebuyers in Brooklyn competed for a record-low number of listings in the fourth quarter, driving up prices in the New York borough that's historically been seen as a refuge from Manhattan's high costs.

Mortgage rates moved lower for the second consecutive week on the market's reaction to November's employment numbers, according to Freddie Mac.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have hiked the standard modification benchmark interest rate.

Treasury Secretary-designate Seven Mnuchin will divest himself of his investments and interests in a number of companies and funds once confirmed, including a fund that has bet on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being recapitalized and released from government control.

Housing is not in a bubble even though home prices are unlikely to decline in the next two years, according to a new report from Arch MI.

HUD Secretary-designate Ben Carson is all but certain to get confirmed to his post — unless he makes a major mistake during his confirmation hearing. Given his lackluster performance during the GOP presidential debates last year, some wonder if that's a possibility.

Homeowners in predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods are more likely than their counterparts in predominantly white neighborhoods to be underwater on their mortgages, according to a report from Zillow.

A Trulia analysis of U.S. listings shows that 3.9% of homes that moved from for-sale to pending moved back to for-sale again, nearly double the rate in 2015.

A unit of M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., has bought certain operations of Philadelphia mortgage firm Carey, Kramer, Pettit, Panichelli & Associates.

Refinance volume rose among millennial borrowers in November, reflecting a nationwide trend, according to Ellie Mae.

Through Motto Mortgage, Remax is looking to give its smaller franchisees the same ability to offer one-stop shopping to homebuyers as larger operators, in a way that will not raise red flags for regulators.

Mortgage brokers and their wholesale partners have seen a slow increase in their market share since the start of the housing recovery. Remax's Motto Mortgage franchise business could accelerate growth faster than the channel's advocates hope for.

The national foreclosure inventory fell by 30% year over year in November, according to CoreLogic.

The Federal Housing Administration said it would cut the annual premium by 25 basis points starting on Jan. 27, giving President-elect Donald Trump a limited window to delay or scrap the cut.

In a letter Monday to Comptroller Thomas Curry, Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., registered their strong opposition to the concept of the charter, which would allow certain types of fintech companies to avoid state licensing requirements by obtaining a limited-purpose national bank charter.

Americans' desire to be homebuyers decreased for the fifth consecutive month in December as interest rates continued their post-election climb, according to Fannie Mae.

The number of homeowners underwater on their mortgage continues to shrink as the amount of tappable home equity grows, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

New approaches to credit scoring lower the standard of the criteria required to receive a mortgage loan, at greater risk to the industry.

The Federal Housing Administration is cutting its annual mortgage insurance premium by 25 basis points, lowering it to 60 basis points starting Jan. 27, the agency said Monday.