Economy

Ahead of the August deadline for lenders to provide new Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure forms, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled a new mortgage shopping toolkit Tuesday.

Forcing lenders to fund upgrades for HUD through the proposed administrative fee would set a dangerous precedent, essentially taxing the very borrowers they are intending to serve.

Clayton Holdings has acquired technology valuation provider Red Bell Real Estate and its sister company, Main Street Valuations.

Home equity lines of credit originations have increased 21.5% in 2014 from a year earlier, according to Equifax's National Consumer Credit Trends Report.

Independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of banks saw their production profits rise in the fourth quarter compared to a year earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities appreciated at a faster pace in the year ended in January, indicating the residential real estate market continues to firm.

Some nonbank issuers of mortgage-backed securities are wrestling with capital pressures, and Ginnie Mae has cooperated with their efforts to sell chunks of mortgage-servicing-revenue streams to investors.

The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals has issued an industrywide call to improve access to affordable housing.

Mel Watt, the former North Carolina lawmaker, has earned praised for his cautious approach to guiding the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But critics say he is making it even more difficult to craft a system without them.

A Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae mortgage servicing rights portfolio with approximately $10 billion of unpaid principal balance is now on the market.

More Americans than forecast signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes in February, indicating a pickup in the housing market ahead of the spring selling season.

Housing affordability has shrunk as the issuing of new housing permits has failed to keep pace with population growth in cities across the country, according to research from Zillow.

United Community Banks took hefty hits during the financial crisis due to its focus on real estate lending. Today, the Georgia company is diversifying by building teams dedicated to SBA lending and making other specialty loans.

Blackstone Group's rental-home finance company plans to offer bonds backed by properties managed by many landlords, the first sale of the debt from multiple borrowers.

If you have millennial-age children, you're wallets likely will be thinner once they decide to buy their first home.

Fountainhead Commercial Capital has created a program designed to allow banks and credit unions to outsource Small Business Administration 504 loans.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has selected current senior advisor and former Freddie Mac executive Ed Golding to head of the Office of Housing and Federal Housing Administration.

Lower-than-expected interest rates and greater demand for purchase loans has been a boon for both mortgage lenders and the crop of new or returning players providing warehouse lines of credit.

Farm banks have enjoyed several years of robust loan volume, but declining farm income has them on guard for increases in delinquencies and more eager to use government-guarantee programs.

The rate of Hispanic homeownership fell in 2014 to its lowest level since 1999, according to data by the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals.