Originations

Single-family housing starts fell to an annualized rate of 436,000 units in October, a near low that comes despite rock bottom mortgage rates.

Commercial real estate investment banking firm George Smith Partners has hired Eric Hamermesh as senior vice president, and director of business development.

LendingTree LLC has agreed to buy SurePoint Lending, a traditional mortgage originator based in Louisville, Ky., giving the online-focused company a branch network for the first time in its 12-year history.

Impac Mortgage Holdings, Irvine, posted a profit just shy of $1 million in the third quarter, a 68% decline from the same period last year, as it struggles to generate new revenue from its mortgage and real estate service businesses.

J.I. Kislak Mortgage, Miami Lakes, has hired Edward Scott, a former JPMorgan Chase executive, to be its southeast regional manager.

For all of the effort put on brand development, marketing and advertising, it still comes down spending money on employee development in the area of customer service to be successful in sales, according to a report from the Forum for People Performance Management and Measurement.

WASHINGTON—Under David Stevens’ lead, the FHA has implemented a whirlwind of reforms, including higher net worth requirements for government-approved lenders, steeper downpayments for borrowers with low FICO scores, and a new mortgage insurance premium structure that was approved by Congress. And he’s not done yet.His focus on reducing credit risk, while ensuring access to FHA financing, has been unrelenting. The commissioner has been tough on enforcement, too. He never forgets to mention that some 1,500 lenders have been kicked out of the FHA single-family program under his watch.

The Federal Housing Administration ended fiscal 2010 with a cash reserve ratio of just 0.50%, a slight decline from the same period a year ago, but strong enough that Congress will not have to use taxpayer money to bolster the fund.

Home prices rose 3.6% in the second quarter, but Fiserv economists expect prices to fall 7% nationwide by the end of next summer before stabilizing toward the end of 2011.

Scranton, Pa., leads the nation with the largest median price gain on a year-over-year basis for the third quarter, according to the most recent Hanley Wood Market Intelligence report.

A Pennsylvania nonprofit group is offering home loans with 0% interest rates in a “rent-to-own” arrangement to first-time homebuyers and distressed borrowers.

Guaranteed Home Mortgage Co. Inc. is making a big push to build a residential mortgage origination platform in the metropolitan New York area’s so-called vertical housing market and has brought on board, among others, former IPI Skyscraper and Wells Fargo executive Neil Bader and his former Wells Fargo colleague Russ Pfeffer.

Without a good reason for marketing in this fashion, strategies may not work.A lot of time is spent encouraging businesses to join the social media craze. In fact, many small businesses now have a Facebook page or post on Twitter or are being followed on LinkedIn. But they have never examined why they should have a social media presence. Without knowing the “why” for doing something, a business will likely see its marketing efforts in this area fail.

MELVILLE, NY—While there are many “unknowns” regarding the future of broker compensation, speakers at the New York Association of Mortgage Brokers annual convention here said they believe the wholesale lending business is not going away.“Wholesale is here to stay, and it will thrive for many years to come,” said Richard Bloom, an area sales manager for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage during the regulatory update session.

Walter Investment Management Corp., Tampa, Fla., has priced a private placement of residential mortgage-backed notes to be issued by Mid-State Capital Trust 2010-1. The offering consists of $135 million of notes secured by residential mortgage loans, building and installment sale contracts, promissory notes, related mortgages and other security agreements.

Flagstar Bank has closed on the sale of a $474 million portfolio of non-insured non-performing residential first mortgages.

It would be a great thing if homeownership could help mitigate homelessness. Currently the focus of most homelessness advocates is rental housing. But rental housing is the step just before homeownership for millions of people.

While the investment opportunities in the nonagency residential mortgage-backed securities space are not what they were in 2008, there is still opportunity there, executives at an internally managed real estate investment trust investing in nonagency and agency RMBS told attendees at a REIT conference in New York.

A number of commercial real estate companies are seeking and receiving lines of credit because they can get better terms than the lines they replace.For example, Government Properties Income Trust, Newton, Mass., is replacing a $250 million secured revolving bank credit facility with a $500 million unsecured facility. The original line of credit had a maturity date of April 24, 2012. The new line matures Oct. 28, 2013, with an option to extend for one year.

House and Senate appropriators allotted $150 million for the Federal Housing Administration reverse mortgage program but now it appears those credit subsidy funds won’t be needed because of the new HECM Saver program.