Originations

Pillar Multifamily LLC and George Elkins Mortgage Banking have had their multifamily loan correspondent arrangement approved by Fannie Mae.

The latest average weekly 30-year mortgage rate came in unchanged at 4.5% in Freddie Mac's latest survey but market activity as of Thursday morning was putting downward pressure on it.

The Rialto Investments segment of Lennar Corp., Miami, which purchases problem assets, saw its operating earnings increase in the company's second fiscal quarter (which ended May 31) over the same period last year but the homebuilder's financial services unit saw operating earnings decline due to decreased volume in the mortgage and title businesses.

Home builders received a vote of confidence of sorts at the Pacific Coast Builders Conference in San Francisco with the disclosure that would-be buyers favor new houses almost unanimously over used.

The Obama Administration needs to appoint a "housing czar" with the single purpose of clearing the market of distressed houses, a prominent West Coast economist said.

The decline of mortgage brokers has had a profound affect on loan origination system provider Ellie Mae. As indicated by the Pleasanton, Calif.-based company’s disclosures to the Securities and Exchange Commission, its customer base has shifted dramatically from broker to lender since 2008.

The environment is shape shifting. The only long-term constants are uncertainty and change. Your ability to foresee the future is limited. You have to set priorities. If everything is a priority, nothing is a priority.

Who needs to worry about MBS risk-retention rules when you can hold fixed-rate mortgages in portfolio?

(Note: this item corrects an item that ran on June 20 using faulty data.) Two of the nation's top megabanks–Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase–saw their residential second lien production volumes swoon in the first quarter on a year-to-year basis but the leader in this market, Wells Fargo & Co., saw its volume increase somewhat, according to new figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

Note auctions are becoming more popular as an effective way of disposing of smaller distressed assets, especially for servicers that have historically shown high liquidation volumes, according to a Barclays Capital commercial mortgage securitization research report released late Tuesday.

An item that appeared on nationalmortgagenews.com June 20 and in the June 20 print edition of National Mortgage News inadvertently used information from a different time period than the first quarter of 2011.

Rising interest rates resulted in reduced refinance volume, and as a result overall mortgage application volume fell by 5.9% for the week ended June 17, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Small mortgage banking companies suffered a 66% drop in profitability in the first quarter as the refinancing boom came to an abrupt end in January and managers rushed to cut payrolls and other expenses.

Wells Fargo & Co.—the nation’s largest originator of reverse mortgages—is kissing the product goodbye, while another top-ranked lender, MetLife Home Loans, is ramping up.

ORLANDO, FL—While a majority of homeowners see good value in borrowing against the equity they have in their homes, a new survey has found that they also tend to believe the step should be taken only in case of an emergency.

If Congress does not act in time to increase the federal debt ceiling, the Federal Housing Administration will likely shut down -- cutting off a key source of mortgage credit for homebuyers.

Fannie Mae has priced its second multifamily DUS REMIC in 2011 and in doing so employed a structure not previously used within its guaranteed multifamily structures program.

Florida saw a 3% increase in single-family existing home sales on a year-over-year basis in May, but the median sales price fell by 5%, according to the state's Realtor group.

Mortgage lenders moving forward in today’s post-downturn environment are increasingly either aiming to become bigger or join bigger players while at the same time keeping a tight lid on their risk. In doing so, they exemplify the line the market needs to walk between the push for growth and the need to continue avoiding undue credit exposure.

Green River Capital, an REO asset management and loss mitigation provider, has expanded its services into the commercial real estate market.