Originations

What a difference two years make. Fannie Mae cleared 123 new Florida condominiums for financing in the first eight months of 2010, according to Condo Vultures.

Long Beach, CA-There is a need for mortgage originators to get the word out about the Federal Housing Administration 203(k) Streamline because it meets the needs of today's marketplace, especially for first-time homebuyers as well as purchasers of real estate-owned properties, the national training director of Plaza Home Mortgage said.

Technology allows a wholesaler to rate its loan officers using metrics that show who provides it with the most valuable loans.Paramount Residential Mortgage Group was looking for a way to make its operations more performance-based and needed a system to do the measuring.

NexBank of Dallas, a new entrant to the warehouse lending sector, last month was eager to expand its young business while a cross-town lender, Southwest Securities Bank, appeared to be cutting back-without much of an explanation why.

A visit to New American Mortgage's Facebook page reveals, among other things, a video of staffers dancing to the song "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, labeled "when the boss is gone," pictures of one of the company's new offices, birthday cake photos and pictures of families standing in front of their homes.

The California Department of Financial Institutions is urging financial institutions to review their lending policies in order to grant "appropriate latitude" to existing customers, including mortgagors, affected by the San Bruno gas leak explosion that occurred late last week.

Mortgage bankers funded $357 billion of one- to four-family loans in the second quarter, a 7% increase from 1Q, but a 39% decline from the same period a year ago.

WASHINGTON—Mortgage bankers are bracing for sweeping changes that are coming to the FHA's reverse mortgage program, which could lead to reduced loan volumes, but also a safer product.

Mortgage originators enjoyed a decent second quarter with loan production rising a respectable 7% from the first quarter, but there is fear and loathing in the industry about what lies ahead when refinancings begin to wane.

New Canaan, Conn., entrepreneur Jack Loop wants to help prospective homebuyers save up for a home, but he's having a hard time finding a bank to assist him.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed more than 200,000 homes in Louisiana alone, including more than 82,000 rental homes. All told, the storm displaced more than a million people from the Gulf Coast, with 600,000 households displaced a month after the hurricane.

Ocwen Financial Corp. said it paid $1.196 billion, or 7.4% less than originally planned, when it closed on its purchase of HomEq Servicing Corp., North Highlands, Calif., citing runoff in the company's securities and whole loan portfolio.

I recently overheard a business associate make the statement: “Goals suck!” Why, I had to ask do goals suck? My visibly upset friend said, I missed my numbers again. I didn’t bring in or close as much business as I had planned. My goals never come true he exclaimed.

Housing is typically the locomotive that pulls the economy out of a recession. But this time around, it's taking up the rear.

Recent defaults on five commercial mortgages with balances of more than $100 million caused the CMBS delinquency rate to increase 23-basis points in August to 8.48%, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.

With the 2010 elections close at hand, Democrats are at risk of losing their No. 2 lawmaker on the House Financial Services Committee.

Foundation Financial Group plans to add 170 new mortgage jobs between now and yearend, noting that its business is surging.

Mortgage brokers may be flustered by new rules limiting how much they can make on loans, but the restrictions might be a positive for all residential lenders overall.

While speculation about the possibility of a "double-dip" recession continues, bond yields have risen slightly over the past week, pushing up 30-year mortgage rates by a few basis points.

The HUD Inspector General's office, in a new report, slams Webster Bank, Waterbury, Conn., for some of its FHA underwriting practices, saying the deficiencies could cost the government insurer upwards of $500,000 on six loans.