Economy

Paying attention to detail is important in the mortgage industry but being a control freak could damage your productivity.

Freddie Mac in the next month plans to approve three more lenders, including one bank, to make multifamily loans between $1 million and $5 million for GSE purchase and securitization, according to an official. Banks were not initially courted.

Industrywide standards of best practices are a topic that deserves consideration by everyone involved. We should prove that common sense still can prevail.

Lenders need to use nontraditional means of measuring a borrower's likelihood of default.

Freddie Mac's first three risk-sharing transactions of 2015 are all insurance policies.

The U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Nomura Holdings Inc., refusing to derail federal government lawsuits that seek billions of dollars over the sale of risky mortgage-backed securities.

The Multifamily Lenders Council, a trade group representing companies that originate and service Federal Housing Administration-insured multifamily mortgages, states President Obama isn't doing enough to assist affordable rental housing.

As we enter the new year, there is a real possibility that we'll be saying good-bye to historically low interest rates and the refinance business that has sustained many firms.

With commercial real estate lenders continuing to slowly relax their underwriting standards, CMBS investors can't overlook the corresponding rise in risk.

Simplified has launched an ordering platform that delivers settlement services to lenders.

By targeting construction lending, 1st Financial Bank USA aims to expand beyond its hefty concentration in credit card loans while entering a business segment that has shrunk mightily since the financial crisis

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro moved swiftly on Thursday to defend pending cuts to the Federal Housing Administration's premiums, rebutting GOP arguments they are premature.

Lenda, a new mortgage company backed by Silicon Valley investors, wants to supplant the traditional loan officer with consumer self-service technology.

Home values have risen fastest in markets where institutional buyers bought up scores of foreclosed homes and then rented them out. But these investor have largely curtailed their buying, and may even be ready to start selling off more properties to profit from the run-up in home prices. That could be good news for first-time buyers.

Mortgage credit availability loosened in December, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Being a mortgage originator means juggling many tasks but marketing your business takes precedence above all of the others.

Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level in more than a year and a half as falling oil prices and concerns about the strength of the euro drove investors to the safety of the U.S. government bonds that guide borrowing costs.

After the release of President Obama's plan to make housing more affordable by cutting mortgage-insurance premiums charged by a federal agency, bond investors responded by pushing up interest rates on the same loans.

President Obama is expected to announce a half-percentage-point reduction in the Federal Housing Administration's annual premium during a housing policy speech Thursday in Phoenix.

Consumers remained cautious about the housing market in December despite optimism that the economy is improving, according to Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey.