Originations

What do Honolulu and West Palm Beach have in common besides being warm, beautiful vacation spots? They made it to the top of RealtyPin's 2012 most surprising real estate markets-for reasons that could not be more different.

Even though fewer foreclosures are being completed at the end of 2012, going through the default foreclosure process is still a troubling period for any distressed borrower.

Reverse mortgage lenders are virtually dependent on federally insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages for their bread and butter.

Sales of existing houses and condos in the Phoenix area rose to the highest level for a November in seven years.

The Senate has confirmed Carol Galante to be a HUD assistant secretary and to serve as the Federal Housing Administration commissioner, a position she has held in an acting capacity for over a year.

Ken Perlmutter is still getting business from contacts he made going back to the days when he was just doing mortgages on the side.

Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a range of definitive ratings to about $300 million in commercial mortgage-backed securities from a single-asset transaction.

HARP loans delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after Jan. 1 will come under new representation-and-warranty standards that could give the refinancing program a boost in 2013.

Las Vegas area home prices overall are up year-to-year again, but the chips are still down when it comes to the number of total sales.

The National Association of Realtors is looking ahead for another good year with sales rising 10% in 2013.

Begin with the basics. Make sure the corporate formation documents are in order before tackling other compliance tasks like hiring a compliance officer.

The shortage of affordable housing is no longer confined to the major cities with historically large numbers of renters, it is growing across the country.

A Las Vegas real estate agent was sentenced to a prison term for her participation in a mortgage fraud scheme involving, among other things, straw buyers.

Sales of newly constructed homes jumped 4.4% in November after falling 3.5% in October.

Brandon Boze, an executive from CBRE Group’s largest shareholder, has joined the group’s board.

Next year, 2013, is the year the mortgage industry shakes off its tepid pace and gets on track for a robust recovery.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped two basis points to 3.35% from the previous week.

Merrimack Mortgage Co. said integrated communication and file services Google provides were a key part of its growth strategy.

Sales of U.S.-backed mortgage bonds soared to a three-year high as steps by the Federal Reserve and Obama administration to make home ownership more affordable propelled a 34% jump in refinancing.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced that it would shut down the fixed-rate Standard Home Equity Conversion Mortgage product by Jan. 31 due to losses caused by technical defaults.