Originations

Bank of America funded $58.4 billion of home mortgages in the first quarter, a 33% decline compared to 4Q, and a further sign that the megabank — like many others — is suffering from a weak home buying market.

Ellie Mae priced its initial public offering at $6 per share Thursday evening, raising $45 million for the Pleasanton, Calif.-based mortgage technology vendor.

The chief congressional proponent of the risk retention rule says federal regulators have gone too high in setting a 20% downpayment requirement on single-family loans that meet the "qualified residential mortgage" test.

Perhaps, loan brokers should just stop battling the Federal Reserve over its loan officer compensation rule, adapt, and move on to the next stage of their career. Or as loan broker/banker Chris Sorensen put it: "This isn't as bad as people think. Once the whining and crying is over, brokers will pick their comp rate and start competing with the big boys."

Foreclosure filing activity decreased over the past three months by 15% from the last quarter in 2010 and 27% lower than the first quarter of last year, according to the latest RealtyTrac foreclosure market report.

Interest rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose by four basis points on average for the week ended April 14, making it four weeks in a row of increases, according to Freddie Mac.

A rising interest rate scenario could lead bank mortgage lenders back to the securitization markets, a paper from Fitch Research hypothesizes. The combination of rising rates and slowing prepayments might expose liability-sensitive banks to repricing risks and net interest margin compression.

The housing-crisis-driven high demand for financial counseling services of recent years appears to be on track for further collaborative growth and innovation despite budding and expected economic improvements.

The Federal Reserve, in its new 'Beige Book' report, offers little hope that residential real estate markets will pick up steam anytime soon, but there are glimmers of improvement in such once depressed markets as Florida.

I just completed a killer interview with Denise Phillippi, a branch manager in Overland Park, Kans. Every single week, she has at least one file transferred to her (requested by the real estate agent or the buyer) because her competition simply screwed up.

The Federal Housing Administration has fined a Brookline, Mass., lender $72,500 and ordered the firm to reimburse the agency for past insurance claims.

Mortgage technology vendor Ellie Mae registered its common stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday morning, lowering not only its initial public offering price, but the amount of money it hopes to raise in the capital markets.

Sales of distressed properties could pull home prices down by another 10%, according to CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming.

Mortgage originations at JPMorgan Chase dropped 29% since the end of 2010, kicking off a year where industrywide originations are projected to drop below $1 trillion.

When it comes to adapting for market survival never, never underestimate the creativity of mortgage and real estate professionals, especially players that are privately held and hate dealing with multiple levels of regulation.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has rescinded a controversial mortgagee letter for its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage program addressing some consumer and industry concerns, but a consumer watchdog group involved in a case contesting the letter said it is still keeping an eye on the agency regarding its policy on loan payoff amounts.

JPMorgan Chase saw its mortgage-related revenue get hammered in the first quarter, falling a stunning 75% to $696 million (compared to 4Q), as originations declined and the firm focused resources on its massive servicing portfolio and dealing with legal issues tied to that business.

In case you are just tuning in to this article we have been covering a very important marketing lesson. It’s one that might explain why your current marketing efforts may not be working.

Mortgage application volume decreased by 6.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended April 8 as the average rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose for the fourth consecutive week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

A growing share of loans originated by banks are coming through their wholesale/correspondent channel, according to the American Bankers Association's annual real estate lending survey.