Economy

The title insurance industry in the United States looked a whole lot better in 2014, according to a recent study by Fitch Ratings.

Guarantee Mortgage Corp. has agreed to pay a $228,000 fine to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on allegations that it violated rules dealing with loan originator compensation.

Ocwen Financial's shares had fallen nearly 7% Friday afternoon, to under $10 apiece, a day after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services put the company's servicer ratings on CreditWatch negative.

Lenders keep hiring as outlook for home sales and originations remains uncertain.

Mortgage credit availability rose less than 1% in May, according to data released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Freddie Mac's weekly survey of the primary mortgage market found average interest rates for conforming loan products to be fairly stable.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a consumer advisory on Thursday warning older consumers about misleading advertisements promoting reverse mortgages.

RPM Mortgage and its chief executive are facing $20 million in fines on allegations that the company violated the loan originator compensation law enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Ratings agency Fitch took a cautious approach to the residential mortgage-backed securities market in its latest report on the sector.

The House approved a measure Wednesday that would bar the Department of Justice from using federal funding to apply a controversial legal theory on price discrimination in litigation.

The share of high loan-to-value ratio purchase loans is at a two-year high, according to RealtyTrac's 2015 Down Payment Report for the first quarter, released Thursday.

Real estate executives have turned more bullish on the real estate market as it continues to attract the interest of foreign investors, a new study from law firm Akerman LLP found.

Rep. Edward Royce, R-Calif., urged fellow House members Wednesday to support a Senate proposal that would make significant reforms to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The number of delinquent loans backing commercial mortgage-backed securities dropped significantly in May, according to a report by Trepp.

Signs of increased underwriting discipline dissolved in the first quarter, creating a challenge for U.S. CMBS investors, according to Fitch Ratings.

While demand for mortgages continues to slide up and down, profits for independent mortgage bankers are up.

Thorofare Capital in Los Angeles has agreed to originate commercial real estate bridge loans on behalf of the money manager DoubleLine Capital.

A global bond-market slump pushed yields on benchmark U.S. mortgage securities to the highest level in more than seven months, signaling potential pressure on the American housing market amid its peak selling season.

Buyers of the unrated B tranche, which transfers the first 100 basis points of losses when homeowners default, will be paid a spread of 795 basis points over one-month Libor.

Weekly demand for mortgage loans continues its trend of being consistently inconsistent.