Economy

Commercial and multifamily originators closed $504 billion in loans last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's experiments with selling credit risk to investors are a critical element of new plan to merge the two entities and move them out of conservatorship, but what form so-called credit risk transfers take could make a big difference.

The total number of loan programs being marketed declined in March, as fewer conventional offerings offset a loosening of standards on government products, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The housing market has been improving but mortgage credit remains "stubbornly" tight on loans bought by the government-sponsored enterprises, according to a chief housing adviser at the White House.

Consumers are feeling a growing pessimism about the direction of the economy that appears to be spilling over into the housing market in March, Fannie Mae said.

Mortgage rates fell to their lowest level in more than a year, reducing borrowing costs during the peak season for home buying.

According to the American Bankers Association's quarterly report on consumer delinquency trends, late payments on home equity loans and home equity lines of credit have dipped below 15-year averages for the first time since the Great Recession.

Credit market turmoil continued to take a toll on commercial property prices in February, when Moody's/RCA Commercial Property Price Indices national all-property composite index declined for a second consecutive month.

The majority of first-time homebuyers plan to skip the starter-home step and move straight into the home that would meet their long-term needs, according to the Homebuyer Insights Report from Bank of America.

As the pressure builds for mortgage lenders to offer digital — specifically mobile — tools, innovators in the space are encouraging the industry to keep the customer as the focus in designing new offerings.

First-lien mortgage originations totaled $1.82 trillion in 2015, a 43% increase from the previous year, according to Equifax.

Homebuyers in hot housing markets from San Francisco to Brooklyn have grown accustomed to bidding wars, waived home inspections and rapid-fire offers.

Mortgage applications increased 2.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending April 1, with refinance activity leading the way, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

JPMorgan Chase, drawing from its experience in the Motor City, has created a $125 million program designed to help community development financial institutions make bigger investments in impoverished neighborhoods.

Home prices rose in February in both yearly and monthly comparisons, according to CoreLogic.

Defaults on commercial mortgage-backed securities declined for the fifth straight year in 2015, according to Fitch Ratings.

JPMorgan Chase is funding a $125 million, five-year program that will provide affordable housing in communities that are at risk of gentrification.

Ruth Paloma Rivera just bought her first home, battling her way through the paperwork obstacle course that is the post-crisis American banking system.

Landlords can't automatically reject applicants with arrest records under HUD's new fair housing policy.

After nearly 20 years of talk, the time for e-closings is finally here, thanks to a push from government regulators and a broad shift in acceptance across demographics.