Originations

New home sales rose in November for the third consecutive month to the highest level since April, the Census Bureau reported Friday.

KB Home's midyear decision to transition its mortgage marketing agreement to a new lender caused significant delays in the Los Angeles-based homebuilder's ability to close home sales in the last quarter of its fiscal year.

Freddie Mac purchased $38.1 billion of mortgages in November, a 12% gain from the month prior, and its best acquisition month since February, according to new figures released by the GSE.

Fitch Ratings this week downgraded its servicer rating on Ocwen Financial Corp., Atlanta, questioning its rapid expansion in servicing contracts and voicing doubts about its heavy use of offshore workers.

Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, has one of the toughest jobs in town.

Only a couple of comments in this holiday week, but they are good ones. The first corrects some loose language in a Chicago ordinance, while the second identifies with the prevailing mood in the industry.

What would Congress do if it didn't have housing (and mortgage banking) to kick around? Who knows, really. Passing the payroll tax break extension was a good idea. It puts extra money in the pockets of potential mortgage customers who might use the cash to finance a home.

With 2011 coming to a close, we can start again in the new year with a clean slate - a brand new year with no mistakes. So let us not repeat the mishaps from 2011. Here is a summary of what not to repeat in 2012:

Add the name of EverBank Financial to the list of bidders that have been kicking the tires at MetLife Home Loans, Irving, Texas.

Consumers soon will be paying more for government-backed mortgages now that the House and Senate have reached a deal to extend a payroll tax break for two months.

Existing home sales were up in November for the sixth straight month in the huge Houston area market.

Housing production in California was up in November for the fourth consecutive month. But builders in the Golden State are still on track to start the third lowest number of units on record in 2011.

Another press release has arrived in my inbox, declaring a new low for mortgage rates. My initial response is: who cares! I don't mean to sound like a jaded mortgage columnist, but the untold story on rates boils down to this: how come continued low rates have not caused home purchases to really boom?

Home prices are back to last summer's levels, according to the latest reading from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, another sign that the real estate market is going nowhere fast despite record low rates.

In a roundtable discussion, Lew Sichelman, senior housing correspondent for National Mortgage News, asks members of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers' executive board what they are dealing with on the legislative front.

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average weekly rate for a 30-year mortgage has inched down to another record low.

The Justice Department late Wednesday announced that it has reached a $335 million settlement with Countrywide Financial Corp., now owned by Bank of America, in the largest fair lending action in history.

Although residential originations fell by 20% in the third quarter — compared to the same period last year — multifamily production went in the opposite direction, rising 80%, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

Subjective thinking still is playing catch-up with the objective need for mortgage process automation, pushing mortgage technology providers to expand their paper-to-paperless offerings.

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