Housing

M&T Bank in Buffalo, N.Y., for the first time was able to report a full-quarter impact from its acquisition of Hudson City Bancorp, which took about three-and-a-half years to complete because of regulatory challenges.

Freedom Mortgage has agreed to pay $113 million to settle government allegations that it failed to comply with Federal Housing Administration requirements for originating and servicing FHA-insured loans.

While soaring real estate prices and ludicrous rents have ceased being news in places called Pacific Heights or Park Slope, the dual tsunamis of gentrification that submerged both coasts are moving inland.

The tax benefits of homeownership, which generations of U.S. residents have counted on, have been elusive for typical buyers since mortgage rates started tumbling in 2008.

Even while FHFA finally embarked on a principal reduction plan, critics argued it was a dangerous idea that made Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac less safe while helping relatively few people.

Purchase mortgage activity, which normally picks up in March and April, is getting an extra boost from an improving economy, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported.

FHFA Director Mel Watt acknowledged that the principal reduction program may seem "too small and too late."

The number of new foreclosure filings in the first quarter stood at their lowest level in more than nine years, RealtyTrac reported.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans dropped to the lowest level in almost three years, aiding homebuyers during the housing market's busiest season for transactions.

Mutual of Omaha Bank and an affiliate of PlainsCapital Bank in Dallas have partnered to sell residential mortgages.

Mortgage applications leaped 10% from a week ago on favorable conditions, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

PulteGroup's founder and largest stockholder hired lawyers from a shareholder-activism practice, a sign that he'll increase pressure to get Richard Dugas to step down immediately as the homebuilder's chief executive officer.

The number of seriously delinquent mortgages reached its lowest level in over eight years, helped by new job creation and higher wages, CoreLogic reported.

The housing market has been improving but mortgage credit remains "stubbornly" tight on loans bought by the government-sponsored enterprises, according to a chief housing adviser at the White House.

Consumers are feeling a growing pessimism about the direction of the economy that appears to be spilling over into the housing market in March, Fannie Mae said.

Mortgage rates fell to their lowest level in more than a year, reducing borrowing costs during the peak season for home buying.

According to the American Bankers Association's quarterly report on consumer delinquency trends, late payments on home equity loans and home equity lines of credit have dipped below 15-year averages for the first time since the Great Recession.

The majority of first-time homebuyers plan to skip the starter-home step and move straight into the home that would meet their long-term needs, according to the Homebuyer Insights Report from Bank of America.

First-lien mortgage originations totaled $1.82 trillion in 2015, a 43% increase from the previous year, according to Equifax.

Homebuyers in hot housing markets from San Francisco to Brooklyn have grown accustomed to bidding wars, waived home inspections and rapid-fire offers.