Economy

U.S. housing starts fell by more than forecast in April, suggesting that supply-chain constraints and rising materials costs continue to hold builders back.

With little transitional disruption, the bigger players on the non-agency side could gain a hefty share of non-owner-occupied mortgage volume as a result of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s caps on such purchases, a KBRA analysis finds.

It’s getting easier to close bigger loans for higher-priced properties, but credit is expanding slower for first-time buyers.

The company is formally launching a new “non-mortgage” unit that will provide small loans for home improvement projects.

Fannie and Freddie's regulator says the companies must comply with the new Qualified Mortgage standard by the summer, while the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has extended the deadline to 2022. The conflicting timetables have stoked uncertainty in the market.

The relatively small addition of 266,000 positions to the broader market in April suggests that income uncertainty, which could impact some borrowers’ ability to qualify for or pay loans, could become a concern among lenders and brokers.

COVID-19 has shown us that technology can rapidly evolve to meet customer needs, in areas from contactless payments to digital banking to mobile wallets. However, we still see great disparities when it comes to the use of contactless and digital banking by low- to moderate-income (LMI) workers. The question is, will emerging tech in the post-COVID economy provide an opportunity to include new people in the financial system-- or leave them even further behind?

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is calling for input on how to better safeguard against potential lending risks associated with residential buildings filled with short-term rental units.

While cash-out refinances were a “significant driver” of risky loans leading to the Great Recession, those mortgages pose less of a threat due to tighter underwriting standards, according to Milliman.

The digital transformation of payments has reached its next phase — with banks and fintechs leading the way. Avoiding the one-size-fits-all approach to deliver the experience customers want is key.

Loans bought on the secondary market have become increasingly important as borrower demand has ebbed and companies have sought to obtain mortgages through additional outlets to maintain production levels.

The head of the Federal Reserve appeared to support Congress’s expanding the scope of the Community Reinvestment Act to unregulated institutions, just as regulators weigh how to modernize the framework for banks.

The unusually strong production numbers seen in the first quarter of this year show loanDepot is emerging as a contender in the battle for loan volume and market share amid an industry price war.

Hedge accounting will align Fannie’s reporting with competitor Freddie Mac, and will address a mismatch between the recorded value of financial instruments used to offset interest-rate volatility on mortgages and the loans themselves.

Depressed Treasury yields have kept mortgage rates under 3% recently, but positive economic news could indicate larger increases will follow this week’s uptick.

Only $89 billion of the $362 billion in new single-family volume came from purchase mortgages.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has moved ahead with an earlier proposal to postpone the full adoption of the qualified-mortgage ability-to-repay rule, citing a need to maximize borrowers' credit access.

It would be available to homeowners making 80% or less of their area’s median income who weren't eligible to tap into low rates last year.

A new commercial-mortgage loan for seven facilities operated by the self-storage REIT is the largest of 41 loans in the conduit deal.

System updates, which may be a result of changes to the Preferred Stock Purchase Agreements, have Community Home Lenders Association members saying loans that were approved previously are getting rejected when put back through.