Housing

The housing market is edging off a slow recovery in spite of high depreciation rates concentrated on the East Coast and Midwest, according to Zillow's August Real Estate Market Report.

While Congress has been unable to pass housing finance reform, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have done a good job of adhering to some of the spirit of recent bipartisan legislation, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

Ginnie Mae may soon raise its liquidity and cash requirements for independent mortgage banking firms since it seems almost certain that Congress won't increase the agency's budget for fiscal year 2016.

First-mortgage originations to subprime borrowers have risen by 30.5% in the first five months of 2015, compared to the same period last year.

The number of mortgage originations dropped 31% to 6 million in 2014 due largely to a decline in refinancing as interest rates increased, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

Home prices increased more than estimated in July as the job market improved and buyers competed for a tight supply of properties.

Lennar Corp., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder, reported fiscal third-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates as demand for new homes strengthens.

The half a percentage point reduction in the Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance premium provided a bigger pop to the housing market than expected, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

Hispanic women are taking charge when it comes to purchasing a home, according to a Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate and National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals report.

Sales of previously owned homes fell more than forecast in August as lean inventories slowed this year's momentum.

Starwood Waypoint Residential Trust and Colony American Homes, two of the largest U.S. single-family home landlords, said they will merge in an all-share deal that creates a company with $7.7 billion in assets.

The housing market came out of August ahead, despite the month's typical slowdown as the summer home-buying season draws to a close, according to reports from Redfin and Remax.

The housing market is shifting toward more-favorable conditions for owning a home instead of renting, according to a new report.

The market capacity for existing-home sales rose 0.4% in August compared to the previous month, according to First American Financial.

Lenders are easing loan standards across all types of mortgage products, according to Fannie Mae's latest survey of mortgage lenders.

Policies that seek to increase homeownership by extending more credit to homeowners are misguided, according to former Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Edward DeMarco.

Conforming mortgage rates barely budged this past week as the industry awaits news from the Federal Reserve Thursday afternoon regarding a potential rate hike.

New-home construction fell in August, indicating the real estate recovery will take time to evolve.

A report to examine the conditions surrounding last year’s unrest in Ferguson, Mo., is calling for officials to strengthen poor minority communities’ access to banking services and restrict the prevalence of predatory lending to reduce crime and poverty.

Refinancings as part of the total origination market rose slightly in August, according to Ellie Mae.