Economy

Sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly rose in January to the second-highest pace since early 2007, indicating the industry will keep prospering.

The affordable housing market has dried up in major cities across the country. In response, regulators and lenders are looking into new programs to get people back into single-family homes while also exploring ways to encourage multifamily developments.

Home values in 20 U.S. cities steadied in the year ended December, putting residential real estate on healthier footing to contribute to the economic expansion.

The Treasury Department will invest an additional $2 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program into a federal fund that seeks to protect homeowners from foreclosure.

About half of U.S. consumers expect their homes to keep rising in value this year, even with three years of increases under their belt, according to LoanDepot.

Mortgage loan delinquencies declined in January, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Bank of America on Monday will launch a 3% down payment home loan in partnership with Freddie Mac, but the bank will not retain any risk if the loans default. That’s because it will immediately will sell the loans and servicing rights to Self-Help Federal Credit Union, a Durham, N.C., community development lender that's on a mission to put more low- and moderate-income families into homes of their own.

The government-sponsored enterprise was enthusiastic about launching the 97% loan-to-value product when it announced it in December 2014. But it has yet to become a sizable part of Fannie's business.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide $40 million in grant money to organizations that provide counseling to prospective homebuyers.

NMI Holdings should become profitable for the first time in the second half of 2016 as its insurance-in-force is expected to go over $21 billion.

Fannie Mae's net income fell 23% to $11 billion in 2015 from a year earlier despite benefiting from higher purchases of single-family and multifamily loans, the government-sponsored enterprise said Friday.

Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt stopped short of calling for Treasury to recapitalize the government-sponsored enterprises, but said "something needs to be done" before they run out of capital.

A combination of several factors will make the housing market more competitive this year, according to Redfin.

Mortgage servicers are actively discussing with regulators how current rules could be streamlined, and future rules could be shaped, to minimize costs and hassles.

A public interest coalition is calling on bank regulators to declare the drinking water contamination in Flint, Mich., a "disaster" and encourage lenders from around the country to extend credit to the area in order to counteract the damage.

Mortgage rates were unchanged this week, as they remain near their 2015 lows, according to Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac on Thursday reported strong fourth quarter and year-end profits driven by a surge in demand for both home purchase and apartment loans.

Lenders see their outfits growing where experts are predicting market decline, despite statistical dissonance. Having a plan to weather the downturn is the key to their growth.

Troubled loans no longer overwhelm the market, but there could be smaller outbreaks that servicers must be ready to deal with, a real estate services vendor says.

Residential mortgage delinquencies dropped in the fourth quarter, as employment numbers improve and housing prices increase, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.