Housing

Consumers have soured on the housing market as more people hold a negative perspective regarding their personal finances and the overall economy, Fannie Mae reported in its July 2015 National Housing Survey.

Competition among lenders has been good for homebuyers.

Stonegate Mortgage reported a large increase in second-quarter profit on higher originations and a larger servicing portfolio.

Interest rates on fixed-rate mortgage loans fell for the third consecutive week, according to Freddie Mac.

With purchase mortgages poised to supplant an expected drop in refinancing, here's a look at the 10 markets with the biggest year-over-year pickup in home sales.

Carrington Mortgage Services said it has helped more than 10,000 consumers, in its campaign to serve underbanked borrowers, originating more than $1.8 billion of loans.

Prospective borrowers for single-family homes will be required to make a minimum down payment of 15% of the purchase price, down from 20%. The borrower must have a minimum FICO score of 680, down from 740.

Home prices across the United States spiked 6.5% year-over-year in June 2015, including distressed sales, according to proprietary analytics provider CoreLogic.

Mortgage applications rose a seasonally adjusted 4.7% for the week ending July 31, compared to the previous week.

NorStates Bank has selected HomeBridge Financial Services to provide origination of residential mortgage loans.

LendingTree posted record revenue during the second quarter, leading the company to upwardly revise its full-year guidance.

Commercial real estate borrowing and lending continued at a strong clip in the second quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Freddie Mac has launched its first securitization of small-balance loans on multifamily properties. The 44 mortgages backing the $108 million of SB1 Certificates are underwritten by Freddie Mac and originated by Greystone Servicing Corp.

CIT Group has completed its acquisition of OneWest Bank in Pasadena, Calif.

The Federal Housing Administration is expected to rebuff a government watchdog report that blasted down payment assistance programs. The report has raised concerns that mortgage lenders would have to indemnify FHA for past loans, and that housing finance agencies would have the programs restructured.

Nationstar Mortgage Holdings returned to profitability in the second quarter after the previous quarter's significant loss.

The title and real estate services portion of Fidelity National Financial Inc. earned $160 million in the second quarter, up from $142 million one year prior because of higher revenue and margins.

There was a six-basis-point decline in the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage during the week ending July 30, Freddie Mac said in its latest weekly report.

Prospect Mortgage will end any activities being undertaken as part of marketing services agreements because of regulatory risk.

Regulators have given the merger between CIT Group and OneWest Bank the green light — so long as CIT comes up with a revised Community Reinvestment Act plan. This condition is good news for the low-income communities impacted by the merger and sets a strong precedent for regulators' review of future bank deals.