Originations

WASHINGTON—After a long August recess, the House and Senate have both been in session, and mortgage industry lobbyists will be looking for every opportunity to pass an extension of the $729,750 GSE loan limit.

Government-backed loans continued to grab a larger slice of the mortgage market last year, according to new Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data released Monday.

Single-family housing starts rose 2% to 438,000 units on an annualized basis during August, but multifamily construction soared by 53% during the month, according to new government figures released Tuesday morning.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are working with their regulator to adopt new appraiser independence standards that reflect changes mandated under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The total dollar amount of outstanding subprime loans in the nation fell to $714 billion at June 30, a 45% decline from the peak back in 2007, according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

While not on the radar of many credit unions, the SAFE Act, which goes into effect on Oct. 1, could have a major impact on mortgage lending by credit union service organizations, or CUSOs.

Home builders remain pessimistic about both a recovery in the housing market and new home sales, according to a September survey conducted by the National Association of Home Builders, and Wells Fargo & Co.

A flight attendant’s highly publicized reaction to one evoked some sympathy, but this type of action actually represents a danger to both careers and businesses. In the hours after he made his great escape down an airplane slide, Steven Slater became America’s newest folk hero, based on the number of friends his Facebook page has attracted as well as the media attention he received.

Residential home sales leveled off in August after plunging 30% in July, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report.

Among the few states that can be seen to be a bellwether for the mortgage broker industry as a whole is Florida.The state has been among the leaders in passing regulations that affect the industry, including one of the earliest continuing education requirements.

The Government National Mortgage Association guaranteed roughly $34 billion of MBS in August, as the FHA/VA market remained strong, particularly for buyers of new and existing homes.

Moody's Investors Service on Friday took ratings action on $5.2 billion of Alt-A mortgage-backed securities issued by J.P. Morgan in 2006 and 2007.

The concept/law of Continuous Process Improvement begins with the concept that a plan—a process—is needed in most areas of your business and your life. Process simply is defined as the way, the best way, to accomplish a business plan and even a basic task.

The development of affordable rental housing has always been difficult, but the past few years have been especially challenging for developers as the tools—mainly the Low Income Housing Tax Credit—that they’ve relied on the past 25 years or more have begun to show their age and not kept up with market realities. What’s needed is a new way of thinking for additional financing of affordable rental housing that mirrors the private sector development market; one that creates stronger nonprofit developers, while not abandoning the mission focused reason that nonprofit developers exist: to create and sustain affordable rental housing for those most in need.

The Mortgage Bankers Association wants regulatory relief for lenders that rely on underwriting decisions made by FHA's 'TOTAL Scorecard' program, including an exemption from the agency's Neighborhood Watch system which displays the delinquency performance of individual firms.

Baltimore has suffered another setback in its case against Wells Fargo & Co. in which it argues that the bank's lending practices led to foreclosures that have hurt the city.

Atlantic Bank and Trust is the second community bank to sign up as a client of Kislak Lending Solutions, the private label lending operation established when J.I. Kislak Mortgage revived its business this past summer.

Average primary market mortgage rates tracked by Freddie Mac's closely watched weekly survey held relatively steady this week, hovering near record lows below 5% for the 19th week in a row.

Lenders were given a ray of hope Thursday that the Federal Housing Administration may come down on the side of flexibility when it finally issues a final rule regarding seller concessions.

WASHINGTON — How to ensure the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has the flexibility it seeks while giving investors and issuers the certainty they need has emerged as the central sticking point confronting lawmakers interested in developing a covered bond market in the U.S.