Mortgage defaults

In more good news for the real estate market, thousands of Albuquerque-area residents have regained equity in their homes.

Fannie Mae has chosen the winners of its latest nonperforming loan sales, which included 9,400 loans with $1.68 billion in unpaid principal balance.

Wall Street speculators are zeroing in on the next U.S. credit crisis: the mall.

First Financial Network is marketing $80 million in performing and nonperforming residential mortgage loans on behalf of the National Credit Union Administration.

Ocwen has reserved $12.5 million to put toward a potential settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The monthly prepayment rate declined in January, an indication of the effects of higher interest rates.

Ocwen Financial Corp. reduced its net loss in the fourth quarter, a reflection of the company's efforts to reduce expenses.

Republican lawmakers are citing a recent report that delinquencies rose for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration as a reason to delay a premium cut, but economists suggest the uptick is related to seasonal issues.

The quarter-to-quarter increase in the mortgage delinquency rate is nothing to get excited about — yet, said a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association economics team.

The mortgage servicer will pay at least $25 million in cash and provide some $200 million in debt relief to borrowers to resolve a range of alleged violations. But Ocwen will also be allowed to resume acquiring servicing rights in the nation's largest state.

The Chicago Federal Home Loan Bank experienced a significant jump in mortgage originations in 2016 due to a "re-introduction" of its traditional Mortgage Partnership Finance loan product.

The developers of new loan-modification programs need to streamline application processes and stop making borrowers chase down useless documents.

The Basel III capital requirements are making it hard for banks to stay in the servicing business, said David Motley, president of Colonial Savings. Their exodus from the market indirectly hurts consumers, he argued.

Fannie Mae is making technological updates and implementing policy and operational changes as part of an effort to improve servicing.

Property valuation firm LRES has launched a new service that provides mortgage servicers with comprehensive lien alerts.

The sale will include Fannie Mae's sixth "community impact" pool of loans.

The number of foreclosures completed in December fell 40% from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic.

Homeowners are reaping the rewards of higher home prices, as the number of seriously underwater properties dropped by 1 million from one year ago, Attom Data Solutions said.

While Arch Capital had a slight increase in year-over-year net income to $64 million, the total was affected by $25 million of costs related to the purchase of United Guaranty.

The rise in home values is good news for homeowners looking to tap the equity in their homes to pay down debt or make big purchases, but some consumer groups fear it could lead to a new wave of loan defaults.