Economy

The volume of all mortgage loan applications declined 4.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Feb. 19, compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Economic data and corporate earnings reports released Tuesday make it easy to remember why the housing market is expected to be one of the economy's bright spots for years to come.

Mechanics Bank in Walnut Creek, Calif., has entered the residential mortgage market and hired a banker to lead the new loan group.

Purchases of new homes dropped more than forecast in January as contract signings slumped in the western U.S. by the most since May 2010.

The inventory of homes for sale in the U.S. declined in January, while home prices continue to rise, according to Zillow.

Meaningful rules encouraging Fannie and Freddie to do more with manufactured housing would allow more lenders into the market and make pricing more competitive.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group is building a U.S. mortgage-bond trading team as tough lending conditions in Japan spur the nation's biggest bank to expand overseas.

Low- to moderate-income consumers and minorities face a difficult time when it comes to buying a home in New York, according to an affordable housing advocacy group.

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.