Originations

Fiserv Integrated Loan Services, Rocky Hill, Conn., has announced the formation of a valuation services division through the merger of its own valuation services with those of two other Fiserv companies: Case Shiller Weiss and Lenders Financial Services.The division, ILS Valuation Services, will be managed by Walter Morgan, who will be the organization's executive vice president. CSW, based in Cambridge, Mass., is a developer of home price indices and of CASA, an automated valuation model and collateral scoring system. LFS, based in Agoura Hills, Calif., is a provider of broker price opinions, fee appraisals, title services, property inspections, and related services. Fiserv Integrated Loan Services is a unit of Fiserv Lending Solutions. Fiserv can be found on the Web at http://www.fiserv.com.

New York Mortgage Co., a subsidiary of New York Mortgage Trust Inc., has agreed to acquire 41 mortgage banking offices and an approximately $300 million mortgage application pipeline from Guaranty Residential Lending Inc., according to the parent company.The offices are located in the Northeast and the mid-Atlantic states. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. "By adding 15 branch offices, 26 satellites, 324 employees, and a very strong sales management team to our franchise, we will significantly expand our referral-based retail origination network throughout the East Coast," said Steven Schnall, chairman and co-chief executive officer of New York Mortgage. ".... Additionally, our focus to promptly replace our initial $1.2 billion portfolio of acquired mortgage-backed securities with self-originated loans will be greatly accelerated with this asset acquisition."

Employment in the mortgage sector fell slightly from its historically high level in September, and it appears that mortgage brokers may be exiting the market, according to the October employment report released Nov. 5 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.The BLS report shows that jobs in the mortgage banking/broker sector fell by 100 full-time positions in September to 458,600. (There is a one-month lag in BLS reporting of mortgage-sector employment data, and the October data will not be released until Dec. 3.) The data show that mortgage companies added 3,500 employees to the payrolls in September, while the number of mortgage brokers declined by 3,600. Meanwhile, the BLS report shows that the U.S. economy generated 337,000 new jobs of October -- the biggest increase since March. The credit intermediation industry added 8,000 jobs in October, the BLS said. The BLS can be found online at http://stats.bls.gov.

Six classes of notes from collateralized debt obligations issued by Corvus Investments Ltd. and Savannah II CDO Ltd. have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The Corvus downgrades were as follows: class A-1, from BB to BB-minus; class A-2, from BB to BB-minus; class B, from B to CCC; and class C, from CCC to CC. In the Savannah deal, class A was downgraded from BB to BB-minus and class B was downgraded from B to CCC. All the downgraded classes, as well as class D in the Corvus deal and class C in the Savannah deal, remain on Rating Watch Negative "due to the continuing uncertainty of the timing and ultimate resolution of both transactions' current impaired assets and the risk of further deterioration in the reference pools," Fitch said. The portfolios are composed of residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial MBS, real estate investment trusts, asset-backed securities, CDOs, and corporate credits, the rating agency said. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Fannie Mae and the National Community Capital Association have entered into an agreement whereby Fannie will serve as a founding subscriber to a new rating system for Community Development Financial Institutions.The CDFI Assessment and Rating System was designed by the NCCA to provide community impact and financial performance scores to investors. Under the agreement, the NCCA will provide consulting to assist Fannie in underwriting CDFI transactions, monitoring investments, and servicing its CDFI assets. Ultimately, NCCA president and chief executive Mark Pinsky argued, CARS will benefit distressed communities by making it less expensive and time consuming for interested parties to invest in CDFIs whose performance is monitored through CARS. "Fannie Mae and the other 12 founding subscribers are helping the CDFI industry take a giant leap forward," Mr. Pinsky said.

Vornado Realty Trust, Paramus, N.J., and Crescent Real Estate Equities Co., Fort Worth, Texas, have announced that their Americold Realty Trust joint venture has purchased its tenant, AmeriCold Logistics LLC, for $47.7 million in cash.Vornado owned 60% of AmeriCold Logistics, and Crescent owned 40%. Vornado and Crescent also announced that they have agreed to jointly sell 20.7% of Americold Realty's common shares to The Yucaipa Cos. for $145 million. After the transaction, Vornado will own 47.6% of Americold Realty, and Crescent will own 31.7%, the companies said. Vornado can be found on the Web at http://www.vno.com, and Crescent can be found at http://www.crescent.com.

The U.S. economy faces "a lot of uncertainty" next year stemming from such factors as energy prices and world events, a real estate analyst has told a panel session at the Urban Land Institute's annual fall meeting in New York City.Ken Rosen, chairman of the Fisher Center for Real Estate at the University of California - Berkeley's Haas School of Business, told a panel session on the post-election scenario for real estate that the risks for the U.S. economy in 2005 include higher energy prices, increasing interest rates, and geopolitical events. What really matters for real estate is job creation rather than gross domestic product, he said, noting that job growth has fallen off after picking up in the spring. Mr. Rosen said he expects "short" interest rates in the 3.5% to 4.5% range next year, resulting in a long bond rate of about 5.5%. Mr. Rosen said he sees a housing price bubble in 30 markets where he considers assets to be overvalued. Joseph Azrack, president and chief executive officer of New York-based Citigroup Property Investors, said Mr. Rosen is "more likely to be right than not" in view of the "continuation of the present administration." Michael Fascitelli, president of New York-based Vornado Realty Trust, said he doesn't think the election outcome will have an impact in the short term.

U.S. industrial real estate markets improved "dramatically" in the third quarter, according to Colliers International, a Boston-based global partnership of commercial real estate firms. The markets absorbed 51.4 million square feet of industrial space in the quarter, compared with 42.2 million square feet in the second quarter, Colliers said. "We have the potential in 2004 to nearly triple the absorption registered in 2003, which ended with full-year absorption of 56.8 million square feet," said Ross Moore, the organization's vice president and director of research. "The economy, although showing some signs of slowing marginally, still has considerable momentum which is expected to translate into strong demand for warehouse space for the remainder of 2004 and into 2005." Colliers can be found online at http://www.colliers.com.

Sales of existing condominiums and cooperatives slipped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 990,000 units in the third quarter, not far below the upwardly revised record rate of 1.01 million set in the second quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors.The condo and co-op resales rate stood at 941,000 in the third quarter of 2003. "We've seen an incredible pace of existing condo and co-op sales over the last six months, but we're also seeing some exceptional price appreciation," said NAR chief economist David Lereah. "In fact, the median condo price has been rising at more than double the rate of single-family home prices." The association also reported that the median existing-condo price was $197,000 in the third quarter, up 18% from that of a year earlier. The NAR can be found online at http://realtor.org.

The Massachusetts Division of Banks has issued emergency regulations for applications for refinancing taken on or after Nov. 7 under the recently enacted Massachusetts Predatory Home Loans Practices Act.The legislation prohibits knowingly refinancing a home loan within 60 months unless the refi is in the borrower's interest. Some lenders have reportedly pulled out of the refi market due to the provision, because it is not limited to high-cost home loans and increases the likelihood of contested foreclosures, according to the law firm of Kirkpatrick Lockhart LLP. The law firm said the emergency regulations fail to develop an objective standard so that a lender can determine at the time it makes a loan whether it satisfies the borrower's-interest test. However, it said the regulations provide some relief to lenders in that they limit the types of loans that are subject to the test. The regulations will remain in effect for 90 days, and the division will conduct a public hearing to receive comments on amending them or making them permanent.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose to 5.70% for the week ending Nov. 5 from 5.64% the previous week, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate rose from 5.01% to 5.08%, while the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed ARMs climbed from 3.96% to 4.00%. Fees and points averaged 0.6 of a point for all three mortgage categories. "The slight increase in mortgage rates this week was due in large part to volatility in long-term bond yields," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "The uncertainty in bond yields reflected weakness in the manufacturing industry that was offset by economic reports of strength in the service sector." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 5.94% and 5.26%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 3.74%, Freddie Mac said. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.

Dynex Capital Inc., Glen Allen, Va., has reported a net loss to common stockholders of $1.4 million ($0.12 per share) for the third quarter, compared with a net loss to common stockholders of $1.7 million ($0.16 per share) for the same period last year.The third-quarter loss includes a charge of $3.2 million from a previously reported sale of Dynex's delinquent property tax receivable operations in Ohio, the company said. Excluding that loss, Dynex reported net income of $3.2 million ($0.15 per share) for the quarter. "Our balance sheet is now in excellent shape, with $40 million in cash and cash equivalents and recourse debt outstanding at a modest $15 million, relative to $133 million of shareholders' equity," said Thomas B. Akin, Dynex's chairman. The company can be found online at http://www.dynexcapital.com.

Countrywide Financial Corp., Calabasas, Calif., has provided earnings guidance for 2005, estimating that it will earn between $3.25 and $4.25 per share based on lower mortgage industry origination volume but higher market share.Countrywide said it expects to produce between $250 billion and $390 billion of loans next year, based on an estimated range of total mortgage origination volume of $1.8 trillion to $2.7 trillion for the industry. That would give Countrywide a market share of 14.0% to 14.5%. Countrywide also said it expects to see an average loan servicing portfolio of $920 billion to $950 billion next year.

Countrywide Home Loans Inc., Calabasas, Calif., and Century 21 Advantage Gold, Philadelphia's largest Century 21 firm, have announced the formation of Mortgage Funding Solutions under the banner of Countrywide Mortgage Ventures LLC.The joint venture will offer homebuyers a variety of loan programs, including zero-downpayment loans and streamlined Fast & Easy loans, as well as a mortgage consultant who will work closely with a Century 21 Advantage Gold Realtor to develop financing options tailored to the buyer's needs, Countrywide said. Countrywide can be found online at http://www.countrywide.com.

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, rose from 703.9 to 761.7 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended Oct. 29, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications rose 7.5% on the week and were up 11.0% from the level of a year earlier. The Purchase Index rose from 440.9 to 496.5 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the Refinance Index climbed from 2233.8 to 2303.9. Refinancings represented 45.7% of total applications, down from 47.7% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 34.4%, the MBA said. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.54% to 5.65%, and points (including the origination fee) fell from 1.35 to 1.26 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mortgagebankers.org.

U.S. Bank Home Mortgage, a Minneapolis-based provider of mortgage outsourcing services, and Allegacy Federal Credit Union, Winston-Salem, N.C., have announced that Allegacy has chosen U.S. Bank to provide mortgage services to its 94,000 members.Allegacy is a provider of mortgage and relocation services, but its growth has required added capacity and nationwide mortgage fulfillment, the companies said. U.S. Bank Home Mortgage has an established relocation lending department. U.S. Bank can be found on the Web at http://www.usbank.com.

IndyMac Bancorp Inc., Pasadena, Calif., has announced the launch of a Spanish business-to-business micro-website designed for its bilingual broker, mortgage banker, and financial institution customers.IndyMac said the microsite, Zona Hipotecaria ("Mortgage Zone"), is designed to enable its customers to explain IndyMac product features and services to their own Spanish-speaking consumers. "This new microsite is part of a larger Web strategy to expand IndyMac's reach and provide Spanish marketing and educational tools, via the Internet, for our customers who conduct business in the Hispanic community," said Frank Sillman, chief executive officer of IndyMac's Mortgage Professionals Group. The microsite can be accessed via IndyMac's B2B website at http://www.indymacb2b.com.

The typical American family's ability to buy a median-priced home slipped in the third quarter as a result of higher home prices, but housing affordability conditions remained favorable, according to the National Association of Realtors.The NAR's composite Housing Affordability Index stood at 128.6 in the third quarter, down from a revised 132.3 in the second quarter and a revised 136.2 a year earlier. The latest index number means that the typical household in the United States had 128.6% of the income needed to purchase a home at the third-quarter median existing-home price, which was $188,500. "When you look at the monthly costs of housing, the typical family who bought a median-priced home last quarter is spending only 19.4% of their income for mortgage principal and interest, which is well within lender guidelines," NAR chief economist David Lereah said. "If you look back to the early 1980s, monthly costs were as high as 36%, and in the early 1990s they were over 20%. So in historical terms, housing affordability is healthy." The NAR can be found online at http://realtor.org.

Three tranches of Solstice ABS CDO Ltd. have been downgraded by Fitch Ratings.The downgrades were as follows: class B notes, from AA to AA-minus; class C notes, from A-minus to BBB; and preferred shares, from BB-minus to B. Fitch said the downgrades stemmed from poor performance through impaired and defaulted assets. Assets rated below BBB-minus have increased from about 12% to over 25% of Solstice's outstanding collateral debt securities since February 2003, Fitch said. The proceeds of the collateralized debt obligation were used to buy an investment portfolio consisting chiefly of CDOs, residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial MBS, asset-backed securities, corporate debt securities, and real estate investment trusts. Fitch can be found online at http://www.fitchratings.com.

Rap singer and entrepreneur Russell Simmons has announced an initiative to boost the national rate of multicultural homeownership by assisting families from underserved groups who are seeking to buy their first homes.The key partners in the "Get Your House in Order" campaign are Simmons' UniRush Financial Services, BET.com, Black Enterprise, Chevy Chase Bank, and myfico.com. "Less than half of all African-Americans nationally own their homes," Mr. Simmons said. "Worse, the rate of homeownership among low- to moderate-income working families with children is declining, even though the overall U.S. homeownership rate has risen." The campaign aims to provide financial tools, services, and information to boost the rate of African-American homeownership and to assist "underserved multicultural families" in buying their first home.