Originations

WASHINGTON — Mortgage brokers are concerned that in the coming months wholesale lenders will impose more restrictions on their operations as a result of the Federal Reserve's new compensation rules for LOs.

Nonperforming commercial/multifamily whole loans trades are evolving as the market becomes more active, according to two executives at local New York/New Jersey specialist Helios Capital.

Mortgage bankers originated $416 billion of single-family loans in the third quarter, the industry's best showing of the year, but a slight decline compared to the same period 3Q 09.

The housing bubble and subsequent carnage in the market have wiped out nearly $9 trillion in home equity since the peak of values in 2006, according to a new report from Zillow Real Estate Markets.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development said it will launch a fair lending investigation into a practice identified by one consumer group as lenders refusing to offer FHA loans to borrowers with low credit scores.

Nearly three-quarters of senior citizens who have a reverse mortgage said they were satisfied with the product, with 43% declaring they had a maximum level of satisfaction, according to the results of a survey released by the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association.

Higher Treasury yields related to improvements in Europe’s debt situation ultimately translated into another rise in Freddie Mac’s average 30-year mortgage rate for borrowers in the most recent week, bringing it to a level half a percentage point above the record low set in mid-October.

A relatively small company started a little less than two years ago is aiming to grow aggressively while stressing technology-driven efficiencies and upfront disclosure to consumers.

There is much to be said for good corporate citizenship. The more companies that make clear and dedicated efforts to put their time and money into improving our world, the better. Who can argue against the benefits of programs to improve the environment, to support education and the arts, to develop and support programs for the needy, etc?

The residential lending arm of a Dallas bank agreed to pay $2 million to settle federal allegations that it discriminated against blacks, charging them higher interest rates than whites.

How bad is the real estate market in Florida? More than 30,000 mortgage industry professionals appear to be missing in action.

Mortgage application volume decreased by 0.9% over last week on a seasonally adjusted basis, as rising interest rates continue to affect refinancing activity, according to new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The previous week's data was adjusted for Thanksgiving Day.

A borrower who goes through a foreclosure must wait at least seven years before getting a new Fannie Mae loan, according to new underwriting guidelines that are being distributed along with an updated version of the GSE's Desktop Underwriter program.

Consumer advocates are once again calling for stricter oversight of the reverse mortgage business, with one declaring the product should only be used as a last resort.

Union Bank, San Francisco, which this week rolled out a new 30-year, fixed-rate jumbo loan, plans to hire 75 retail employees and a handful of account executives as it seeks to expand its mortgage business.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition has filed fair lending complaints against 22 lenders for allegedly requiring high credit scores on Federal Housing Administration-insured loans and refusing to extend credit to qualified borrowers.

The delinquent loan inventory at Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., Milwaukee, Wis., fell by over 3,900 loans in November, although new delinquency notices outpaced cures by 1,169 loans.

We promise not to lecture in this article but the headline above says it all. If you are reading this, then we commend you for having stuck it out during the past few years. Things have not been easy for sure. So take a minute and congratulate yourself. Reverse mortgages still hold a lot of promise for the future. But you know where we’re going with this.

The amount of money available through a government reverse mortgage in the United States recently decreased and that could be an additional strain on older borrowers who appear to be increasingly reliant on home equity as a source of income as they age.

Long-term rate-indicative Treasury yields, which have been generally trending higher recently, broke into yet another higher range Tuesday afternoon.