Originations

Existing-home sales rose in August for the third consecutive month while the median price paid for a house increased for the sixth straight month.

Roughly 58% of LOs told Hammerhouse that they consider their compensation “fair and compliant,” while 56% said their firms consistently meet “industry service standards.”

A federal judge has thwarted efforts by African-American consumers to proceed with a class-action lawsuit against Option One Mortgage.

We’re beginning to hear reports that some large megabanks are starting to lose residential loan officers to nonbanks.

Mortgage Builder is set to release the latest version of its loan origination system.

Does a borrower whose mortgage is underwater have an obligation to continue paying their monthly loans if they have the ability to do so? There are different viewpoints to this question.

Single-family housing starts jumped 5.5% in August to their highest level in more than two years with home building executives starting to feel good about their future.

Two former Sterling Financial mortgage loan officers sued the lender on claims that they are owed unpaid overtime.

Mortgage applications were just about flat for the week ending Sept. 14, but refinancings—thanks to the HARP program—are on the rise.

Sales of existing homes rose 2.5% in August on a nonseasonally adjusted basis, after falling 10% in July.

Lending to investors and second-home buyers rose 10% in 2011 while overall purchase money transactions fell 5%, according to new origination figures culled from Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued new guidance to federally chartered banks and thrifts that are lending money to investors who buy real estate owned with the idea of turning those units into rentals.

Two years ago some top ranked LOs were accepting jobs at depositories because they felt secure in working for a lender that had a future. But new LO compensation rules turned out to be more benign than many thought.

As of late last year Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had placed more than 300 high-risk counterparties on watch lists and stopped doing business with more than 40 of them.

State governments in California, New York and New Jersey are consolidating the entity that regulates their mortgage originators into other departments.

There’s growing evidence that the second lien market is beginning to gain traction. But don't look for any 80-10-10 products quite yet.

Banks are starting to lend money to homebuilders again, a sign that the recovery in the housing continues.

In a new letter to the Federal Reserve, the National Association of Realtors declares that underwriting standards remain too tight and the Fed should use its influence to ensure that new mortgage regulations do not further inhibit access to credit.

The Mortgage Bankers Association hired industry veteran Pete Mills as its new senior vice president of residential policy and member services, effective Oct. 1.

The proposed integrated Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act/Truth in Lending Act form, which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau calls the “Loan Estimate,” is designed to help borrowers shop for the best deal.