Economy

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.

Mortgage rates declined for a second week, sending costs for 30-year loans to their lowest in more than a month as the busiest homebuying season gets under way.

Home price appreciation has outpaced wage growth in more than three-quarters of U.S. housing markets, according to RealtyTrac.

It's was anything but a winter wonderland for the housing market, according to a report by Freddie Mac.

Investors punished Nationstar Mortgage, sending shares down more than 10% Wednesday, down $3.15 a share to $27.96 a share, after the nonbank servicer announced a capital raise of roughly $500 million that will dilute existing shareholders.

The leader of the Senate Banking Committee said he'd rather leave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in U.S. conservatorship than pass a bill that includes explicit government support for the housing market.

With mortgage giant Freddie Mac finding increased demand this week in the nascent market for its risk-sharing securities, competitor Fannie Mae said it was taking steps to draw more buyers for its own notes.

In a reflection of the recovering housing market, consumer demand for home equity lines of credit is surging, according to the Consumer Banker Association's Home Equity Lending Committee.

Commercial mortgage-backed securities servicers have held on to real-estate owned properties for longer than usual, which could lead to a reversal in the declines in liquidations seen recently, according to a Fitch Ratings study.

If you thought the subprime mortgage-backed security was an artifact of the past, think again. Nomura Holdings and Angel Oak Capital have a deal that may help revive the part of the market that went bust during the crisis. Their success could encourage more banks to dip their toes back into riskier mortgages.

KeyBank Real Estate Capital has teamed up with Hunt Mortgage Group to create a commercial mortgage servicing group and asset management department.

Lyle Gramley, the former chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers Association who prior to that was a Federal Reserve governor who helped battle a recession and inflation of more than 10% during Pres. Ronald Reagan's first term in the 1980s, has died. He was 88.

Purchases of new homes unexpectedly rose in February to a seven-year high as stronger job gains helped bolster industry activity amid severe weather.

Home prices increased less than economists estimated in January as traditional buyers took the place of investors, leading to smaller gains.

Much like in 2014, a multitude of factors, including record snowfall across the country and the West Coast port strike, contributed to a sluggish start to the year economically.

Ocwen Financial Corp. agreed to sell servicing rights on a $25 billion portfolio of home loans and said it's out of compliance with New York Stock Exchange listing standards.

Ocwen Financial is fighting back against a group of large bondholders that have accused the Atlanta mortgage servicer of improper servicing practices and an alleged breach of trust.