Economy

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.

The cost to rent housing grew at a faster rate than home values in April, as rising rents make it difficult for many consumers to afford a mortgage, according to Zillow's monthly real estate report.

Home purchase loans have once again taken the majority share of originations, although volume shrunk by 11% from the same time last year.

Mortgage bankers facing new demands on their businesses are becoming increasingly interested in new sources of liquidity, particularly through mortgage servicing rights financing vehicles.

Purchases of previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in April, a sign the industry's recovery remains uneven.

Mortgage rates fell for the first time in a month, cutting costs for buyers during the housing market's busiest time of the year.

Nonbank servicers selling and buying Fannie and Freddie MSRs must meet new capital and liquidity requirement to transfer servicing.

The Commercial Real Estate Financing portal allows investors to apply for financing through Auction.com with the company's preferred lenders.

Real estate investment trusts have near-universal anxiety over the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, a study by BDO USA, a financial advisory and consulting firm, found.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council is encouraging mortgage agencies to continue clarifying when lenders must repurchase defective loans.

The Korean-American bank is looking to diversify its balance sheet and revenue streams before it hits $10 billion in assets. The commercially focused lender hopes such efforts will help it once more regulation kicks in.

With older appraisers retiring and fewer and fewer college graduates entering the profession, industry observers say that, in five to 10 years, there won't be enough appraisers to handle the volume of home sales. For lenders, that could mean higher appraisal fees and long delays in closing loans — at a time when technology could be speeding up the process.