Originations

Freddie Mac is creating a new securitization option for lenders that originate "jumbo/super conforming" fixed-rate mortgages that have a maximum loan limit of up to $729,750.

Berkadia Commercial Mortgage is adding a fixed-rate loan for inclusion in new commercial mortgage-backed securities to the products offered through its national mortgage banking network.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the GSE regulators are reminding lenders that the maximum mortgage amount for conforming mortgages will remain unchanged for the first nine months of 2011.

The "shadow" inventory of homes that could reach market increased to 2.1 million units in August, an 11% jump from the same period a year ago, according to new figures provided by CoreLogic, Santa Ana.

The split in the commercial real estate market continues to widen, with historically high prices being paid for institutional properties in top markets.

BNCCorp Inc., Bismarck, N.D., will retain its Scottsdale, Ariz., stand-alone mortgage banking office, even after it sells its retail banking branch in that city to Alerus Financial Corp., Grand Forks, N.D.

A new report on the failure of WesCorp Federal Credit Union concludes that the one-time $32 billion corporate CU had too much of its investments tied to a single real estate market — its home state of California — and one issuer, Countrywide.

According to the latest data from Housing Intelligence, the Carolinas are the place to be. Of the 17 markets in the country which had 1,000 new home closings or more in the third quarter, 10 were in North and South Carolina.

Work from home without looking like itThe mobile workforce is expected to grow to 1.2 billion people (one-third of the existing global workforce) by 2013, according to IDC Research. For those of us who work from home or know someone who does, it’s easy to see why. Being a remote worker has a lot of benefits—little or no commuting time, the ability to time shift when needed, keeping a job when you have to move away, and more.

NEW ORLEANS—Overlays are killing otherwise good deals, the leadership of the National Association of Realtors charged here earlier this month.It’s bad enough that private lenders are making hardly any loans that are not insured by the Federal Housing Administration or purchased by the government-sponsored enterprises, they complained.

NEW ORLEANS—Overlays are killing otherwise good deals, the leadership of the National Association of Realtors charged here earlier this month.It’s bad enough that private lenders are making hardly any loans that are not insured by the Federal Housing Administration or purchased by the government-sponsored enterprises, they complained.

NEW ORLEANS—Following two straight months of improvement, pending home sales dipped 1.8% nationally in September, the National Association of Realtors reported at it’s annual convention here earlier this month.

Existing home sales fell 9.8% in October from the previous month, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is looking at warehouse lending to see if such transactions are legitimate secondary market transactions under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act.

I saw six people huddled on the sidewalk in front of me; through their legs I saw what looked like a body on the ground. I rushed over to see what was going on. I saw a man with a bloody gash on his head; he appeared to be unconscious.

Ask anyone in the mortgage or real estate industry how to avoid buying a house that will end up underwater, and the immediate response is a cackle and quick-witted retort. “You would need a crystal ball for that” is the most common response.

George Madison, general counsel of the Treasury Department, says the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may move forward with proposed rules without a permanent director.

At its Nov. 23 meeting next week, the Financial Stability Oversight Council is set to discuss the on-going foreclosure mess and whether it presents a systemic risk to the financial system, according to a Treasury Department official.

Settlement service fees for mortgage originations haven’t budged much since new Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act policies took effect at the beginning of the year, according to a new study.

The mortgage services division of IBM has taken control of roughly $47 billion in servicing rights from JPMorgan Chase and eventually may increase its contract with the megabank to $100 billion, industry officials close to the deal confirmed to National Mortgage News.