Economy

Mortgage brokers were among the companies that received the regulator's warning letters, but brokers are not required to report HMDA data — leading many to suspect mini-correspondents, which straddle the line between broker and lender, were the recipients.

Banc of California in Irvine has sold about $163 million of single-family residential mortgages to an unnamed buyer.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed to achieve their low-income and very low-income single-family home purchase goals for 2015, the Federal Housing Finance Agency annual housing report said.

Home prices in New York's Hamptons fell the most in almost three years as buyers in the beachfront towns sought out less-expensive properties and shunned the middle of the market, priced from $1 million to $5 million.

A market that some Ginnie Mae issuers tap to help finance their mortgage operations has a dwindling number of investors.

The CFPB sent letters Thursday to 44 mortgage lenders and brokers warning them of potential reporting violations related to their mortgage lending activities — infractions the bureau is increasingly pushing lenders to take seriously.

Mortgage rates slipped from last week's spike and the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage eased back to its summertime range below 3.5%, according to Freddie Mac.

Arch Capital Group's mortgage insurance business had underwriting income of $37.4 million in the third quarter, an increase of 119% compared with the $17.1 million one year prior.

The Freddie Mac Multi-Indicator Market Index for August was up 5.4% over the same month last year, driven by its purchase component, which had an 18.6% increase.

Walker & Dunlop has agreed to acquire George Elkins Mortgage Banking Co., which originates commercial real estate loans for life insurers, banks, trusts, pension funds and other private capital sources.

Higher mortgage banking revenue and commercial real estate lending offset merger costs at United Community Banks in Blairsville, Ga., leading to an improvement in third-quarter profit.

Purchases of new homes in September stayed close to an almost nine-year high, showing residential real estate was maintaining momentum heading into the quieter selling season.

Home prices, when adjusted for income and interest rates, decreased in August by 2.6% on a year-over-year basis, making properties more affordable, according to First American Financial Corp.

American National Insurance Co. will use SS&C's Precision LM software product to manage the full lifecycle of its commercial real estate loan portfolio.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities continued to rise at a steady pace in August, according to data Tuesday from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller.

Real estate franchisor Re/Max Holdings is getting into the mortgage brokering franchise business with its new unit Motto Mortgage.

Fannie Mae is planning to provide relief to lenders from potential buybacks for loans in which the borrower's income, assets and employment information have been validated through automated underwriting.

Equifax Workforce Solutions has been selected as a designated vendor for Fannie Mae's Desktop Underwriter validation service.

The acquisition of Middleburg Financial would create a nearly $2.5 billion-asset bank in northern Virginia with strong mortgage originations and a growing wealth management business. It would provide an endgame for Middleburg while also making Access more appealing to potential buyers.

Lenders will get a reprieve from the threat of some mortgage-related penalties under a new program announced by housing-finance giant Fannie Mae on Monday.