Economy

Wells Fargo's head of mortgage lending, Mike Heid, will retire in October. The San Francisco company will promote Franklin Codel, head of mortgage production, to succeed Heid as head of Wells Fargo Home Lending.

Consumers' growing confidence about their ability to qualify for a mortgage is generating more foot traffic, sales orders and loan volume for some of the nation's largest homebuilders.

Refinance application volume for the week ended Aug. 7 reached its highest level since the end of May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Housing demand and prices in urban centers is growing at a faster pace than the overall market, according to the newest quarterly report from Fitch Ratings.

Home shoppers in San Francisco needed incomes of $267,780 to become owners of a typical house in the second quarter as prices soared to a record.

Homeowners and appraisers are getting farther apart on their perceptions of housing values, according to Quicken Loans.

New Residential Investment Corp., real estate investment trusts, residential mortgage bonds, mortgage servicing rights

Home prices rose in the vast majority of U.S. metro areas in the second quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development fined two Texas lenders for charging bogus fees to borrowers purchasing manufactured housing.

Foreclosure inventory and completed foreclosures declined drastically during June, real estate analytics firm CoreLogic found in its monthly survey.

Farmer Mac reported a higher second-quarter profit, citing an increase in the value of financial derivatives and hedged assets.

Freddie Mac has appointed Arbor Commercial Mortgage as its latest seniors housing lender, the Uniondale, N.Y.-based mortgage company said Monday.

A New York law that was invalidated by a federal judge was one of many efforts by big cities to pressure banks into making more investments in local communities after the crisis. Some municipal laws could be more vulnerable to bankers' legal challenges than others.

Walter Investment Management in Tampa, Fla., said its second-quarter loss widened, as it recorded a goodwill impairment charge in its reverse mortgage division.

The delinquency rate for commercial mortgage-backed securities was little changed from June to July, according to Fitch Ratings.

A federal judge has overturned a New York City law that would have required banks to make new disclosures regarding their investments in local communities.

PennyMac Mortgage Financial Services reported a rise in income on higher servicing and origination revenue.

1st Service Solutions warned that the Las Vegas, Phoenix and Chicago markets could cause problems for commercial mortgage-backed securities investors.

PHH Corp. reported losses of $62 million for the second quarter, driven by major increases in operating expenses and a $46 million loss in the servicing segment.

M&T Bank's disclosure that it is in settlement talks with the Justice Department for not complying with underwriting guidelines on FHA loans has renewed fears that more lenders will be targeted.