Economy

Income gains and lower mortgage rates contributed to an uptick in affordability in July across most major markets in the country, according to First American Financial Corp.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers has created a new grant program that is designed to expand the mortgage broker channel by helping mortgage professionals open their own wholesale shops.

Home prices continued to increase nationwide, led by gains made in New York State, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Restoring consumer confidence in financial services won't be easy after the latest banking brouhaha, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can help by proactively holding all mortgage loan officers to the same federal licensing standard.

Freddie Mac plans to say it will start a pilot program to increase the amount of risk it shares with private mortgage insurers.

Purchases of new homes dropped in August after surging a month earlier to the fastest pace since 2007, representing a pause in momentum within residential real estate.

Arch Capital Group has planned a secondary public offering to raise some of the cash for its $3.4 billion acquisition of United Guaranty Corp. from American International Group.

Fannie Mae employees will be working this weekend to update the agency's automated underwriting machine to process trended data for the first time.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac want to make it easier for owners of older apartment buildings to make energy efficient upgrades.

The average sales price of a new mobile home was $67,800 in April, compared with an average sales price of $380,000 for a site-built home.

The National Association of Realtors has partnered with VA Loan Captain to create a platform designed to help its members better serve the needs of military and veteran homebuyers and sellers.

Banks are dumping their mortgage servicing rights because low rates and new rules make it hard to earn a profit. SunTrust, Flagstar and First South Bancorp in North Carolina are taking the opposite view.

Mortgage loan officers keep an eye on the long game, but making a sale is more than the sale; ushering people through the biggest purchase of their lives requires the ability to maintain relationships over time.

Mortgage rates ticked down slightly from last week's post-Brexit high in anticipation of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting, according to Freddie Mac.

Lennar Corp. agreed to buy WCI Communities Inc. in a deal that values the Florida real estate company at about $643 million.

Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly declined to a six-month low in August, signaling buyers are getting discouraged by a lack of properties to choose from.

The mortgage industry is failing communities of color by not providing adequate access to conventional loan products, calling into question the future of the housing market and the nation's ability to turn the tide of rising wealth inequality.

Citigroup is shopping $540 million of bonds backed by a portfolio of 102 self-storage facilities.

Fannie Mae has completed two Credit Insurance Risk Transfer transactions worth $14.4 billion, in a continuation of its efforts to reduce taxpayer risk through an increased role for private capital in the mortgage market.

House flippers and property developers are increasingly crowdfunding — tapping the virtual wallets of anonymous internet backers.