Economy

Mortgage applications decreased 0.8% for the week ending Oct. 30 according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey — an improvement from the 3.5% drop registered the week prior.

While Texas has been among the strongest housing markets in the country over the past few years, the recent decline in oil and gas prices is affecting its housing market at a time when an overall sluggish economy can't pick up the slack.

Greystone has secured $88.6 million in financing to rehabilitate 20 multifamily properties for low-income residents in Tennessee.

HomeFree-USA, a group that provides counseling to potential homebuyers, has opened a Baltimore office and introduced a campaign to promote neighborhoods in West Baltimore that had been ravaged by riots.

Freddie Mac Chief Executive Donald Layton insisted Tuesday that the government-sponsored enterprise showed "very strong fundamentals" in the third quarter, despite reporting a $501 million loss due to an accounting mismatch with its use of derivatives.

The housing market displayed bright short-term and long-term trends in September, according to CoreLogic's Home Price Index.

American International Group Inc. CEO Peter Hancock dismissed activist investor Carl Icahn's proposal to split the company into three insurers, saying a division would limit earnings diversity and reduce the value of some tax assets.

Freddie Mac posted a third quarter loss of $501 million, its first quarterly loss in four years, but the government-sponsored enterprise will not request a draw from the U.S. Treasury.

Cherry Hill Mortgage Investment Corp. has purchased its first mortgage servicing rights portfolio, with an aggregate unpaid principal balance of roughly $1.4 billion.

Loan demand and conditions remained largely unchanged in the third quarter, with some easing of credit standards for consumer and auto loans, according to a survey of senior loan officers conducted by the Federal Reserve.

A New Jersey woman and her parents were found guilty of a sophisticated mortgage equity fraud scheme by a Pennsylvania federal jury.

The government-sponsored enterprise is working to rebuild partnerships with church organizations and housing financing agencies as part of a broader effort to make owning a home affordable for low- and moderate-income families.

Defaults on commercial mortgage-backed securities declined from the end of the third quarter, compared to the previous quarter, according to Fitch Ratings.

Purchase mortgage originations are soaring because of high-credit score applicants, while refinance applications are declining among the same group of borrowers, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said there's "no merit" to a lawsuit filed by a unit of Cerberus Capital Management LP accusing the bank of defaulting on payments tied to U.S. real estate.

Deutsche Bank is exiting agency residential mortgage-backed securities trading as part of a larger strategic plan announced Thursday that cuts thousands of positions in numerous business lines worldwide.

The administration apparently intends to leave office without addressing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's capital bases and therefore the tight credit conditions.

A handful of housing markets in the West showed signs of resilience in October, Pro Teck Valuation Services' monthly Home Value Forecast indicates.

Genworth Financial's third-quarter profit missed analysts' estimates as results deteriorated at its Canadian and Australian mortgage insurance units.

The report from independent auditors will likely show that FHA remains below its 2% statutory minimum capital ratio, but HUD officials and outside observers still expect it to show major improvement over last year.