Originations

Thanksgiving week isn't exactly the busiest time of the year for residential lenders, and new figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association show that application volume tanked by almost 17% during the week ending Nov. 26.

The company which operates the National Association of Realtors' official website is now in the mortgage business.

A mixed-use development in Oakland, Calif., previously taken into real estate-owned status as the result of the developer’s bankruptcy, has a new owner and a new name.

Consumer attorneys and legal services groups are urging the Federal Reserve to withdraw a proposal that might "eviscerate" borrowers' rights to rescind abusive mortgages and stop foreclosures.

The mortgage lending subsidiary of manufactured home builder Palm Harbor Homes is not part of the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition, a statement from the company said.

William Moody has joined Williston Financial Group Inc., as an executive vice president and head of its New Millennium Title lender services division. He will also serve on WFG's executive committee.

More data show commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquencies have been climbing at a notably slower rate, but experts are still seeing downgrades increase and more challenges ahead.

There was a slight decline in new private mortgage insurance written between September and October, even as the Federal Housing Administration's new pricing took affect at the start of the month.

WikiLeaks, the controversial website that released thousands of classified State Department cables this week, says it plans to reveal potentially damaging documents from a major U.S. bank early next year.

Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, Corona, Calif., funded $244 million of residential loans in the third quarter, its best origination month in its 10-year history.

Radian Group CEO S.A. Ibrahim said the company should return to operating profitability "at some time in the future." But when, he told the FBR Capital Markets Fall Conference, will be more of a function of when the company is able to deal with its portfolio of late stage delinquencies.

The two federal agencies that have a stake in regulating consumer privacy issues, the Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission, are expected to issue recommendations for a privacy regulatory framework.

LOS ANGELES—With the successful completion of its payment assistance plan for homebuyers who are laid off from their jobs, the California Association of Realtors has launched a new program, this one paid for by sellers.Some 5,500 first-time buyers took advantage of the original Mortgage Protection Program, which gave buyers up to $1,500 per month for up to six months if they got laid off.

Existing home sales in California declined in October, the California Association of Realtors reported.

Freddie Mac's decision to hike its delivery fees on higher LTV loans is raising hackles at the National Association of Realtors which has been calling on the GSEs to ease up on their "excessively tight" credit policies.

Existing home sales fell substantially in Illinois in October, the state’s Realtor group reported. But for the year to date, sales are off only a bit compared to the same period a year ago.

Housing production in the country’s most populous state fell again in October for the fourth consecutive month, the California Building Industry Association reported.

Home prices fell 0.7% in September -- the second monthly decline since July – with values sliding in 18 of the 20 cities measured by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index.

An American Indian bank, Oklahoma City-based Bank2, wants to partner with New Mexico tribal housing entities to drum up more Indian mortgages in the state.

It’s getting to that time of year when bears think about retreating to a cave and hibernating until spring. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem as if the bears that inhabit this neck of the financial woods are in the mood to come in out of the cold.