Economy

Freddie Mac is in the market with its fourth risk-sharing transaction of the year.

In a sign that the GSEs may once again be trying to compete with each other, Freddie Mac will no longer charge lenders to use its Loan Prospector automated underwriting system.

Eight years after the bottom fell out of the housing market, investment giants including BlackRock are facing off against small hedge funds over the detritus of the subprime era.

Technology that takes into account the sales, cost and income approaches to property valuations is a more comprehensive method of risk assessment and can help detect pricing bubbles before they wreak havoc on the mortgage and real estate industries.

Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder, reported an increase in quarterly earnings as lower tax provisions made up for a decline in revenue.

Mortgage applications fell 1.6% on an adjusted basis from a week earlier, according to a weekly survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Britain's largest taxpayer-owned lender, could pay as much as $4.5 billion to resolve claims of misconduct in its handling of U.S. mortgage securities.

Veros will offer a direct connection to the Federal Housing Administration's new Electronic Appraisal Delivery portal using the same interface it offers for submitting appraisals to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Mortgage Collaborative has entered into an agreement with Fannie Mae that would make certain enhancements of its benefits available to its lenders.

Home prices rose 1.2% from February and 4.8% year-over-year in March, representing the largest monthly gain since June 2013, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

San Francisco continued its reign atop HSH.com's list of salaries needed in 27 metro areas to afford a median-priced home in the first quarter.

Demand for commercial real estate is on a gradual road to recovery, the National Association of Realtors says, thanks to a stronger labor market and growing household formation among young adults.

Purchases of new homes in the U.S. rose more than projected in April, a sign this part of the market is picking up steam during the busiest selling period of the year.

Associated Banc-Corp in Green Bay, Wis., agreed to expand mortgage lending in minority neighborhoods to settle a federal probe into its fair-housing loan practices.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a faster pace than projected in the year through March, reflecting a limited number of available properties on the market.

Exeter Financial has hired former Freddie Mac executive Paige Wisdom to be its chief financial officer.

Existing home sales in May will increase by 5.8% from the same month last year, the real estate marketplace Auction.com predicts. The company also expects existing home sales to rise 2.9% from April.

More powerful employment and wage gains are necessary to fuel home purchases, according to mortgage industry economists.

Fannie and Freddie's profits depend on having their obligations backed by the U.S. Treasury. Therefore they should have to pay a sensible price for this backstop — just like big banks.

Fannie Mae has a pessimistic outlook on U.S. economic growth following underwhelming first-quarter numbers in 2015, though mortgage market optimism remains thanks to low interest rates.