Originations

The title insurance industry paid approximately $582.7 million in claims in 2002, compared with $465.1 million in 2001, according to the American Land Title Association.The payments were made to compensate homeowners for losses they experienced under policies issued to them or their lender, or to defend titles from the claims of others. "The public misperception that title insurers do not pay substantial claims results from a lack of understanding of what title insurance is and how it protects homeowners," said James R. Maher, executive vice president of ALTA. "It is equally important to note that the title industry spends more than 10 times the amount it pays in claims to perform title searches and cure these title problems to avoid claims." ALTA estimated that problems arise in one out of every four real estate transactions. The group can be found online at http://www.alta.org.

Susan Jackson has been named senior vice president of emerging markets in Washington Mutual Inc.'s Home Loans and Insurance Services Group.Seattle-based WaMu said Ms. Jackson will be responsible for leading the group's business development, financial literacy programs, marketing, and growth in underserved markets around the nation. She will also promote the initiatives supporting the company's 10-year, $375 billion commitment to community lending and investment, WaMu said.

The rating of the Times Square Hotel Trust's mortgage and lease amortizing certificates has been lowered from BBB-minus to BB-plus and removed from CreditWatch with negative implications by Standard & Poor's.The actions followed the lowering of S&P's BBB-minus rating of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. to BB-plus. S&P said the transaction's rating is based on the payments and obligations of Starwood pursuant to a triple net lease on the W New York--Times Square Hotel in New York City. Times Square Hotel Trust's rating is dependent on Starwood's credit rating.

In response to the GMACCM announcement, Standard & Poor's placed its commercial mortgage servicer rankings for GMACCM and two Lend Lease business units on CreditWatch.S&P said its Above Average commercial servicer and master servicer rankings for GMACCM have been placed on CreditWatch with developing implications, and its Strong commercial special servicer ranking for that company has been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications. In addition, its Strong commercial servicer and master servicer rankings for CapMark Services and its Strong commercial special servicer ranking for Lend Lease Asset Management LP have been placed on CreditWatch with negative implications, the rating agency said. Citing the magnitude of the acquisition, S&P said it will monitor all the entities "for signs of any operational disruptions in their abilities to fulfill their respective ongoing master, primary, and special servicing obligations." Regarding its special servicer ranking on Lend Lease, S&P said it will "re-examine the depth of the company's revised organizational structure after it transfers many of its asset managers to GMACCM with the special servicing contracts." S&P can be found online at http://www.standardandpoors.com.

GMAC Commercial Mortgage Corp., Horsham, Pa., has announced that it plans to acquire three businesses from Lend Lease Corp. Ltd., an Australian global real estate group.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The three units are CapMark Services, the Debt Advisory Group, and the North American Asset Management business. David E. Creamer, chairman of GMAC Commercial Holding Corp., the parent company of GMACCM, said CapMark has a $60 billion servicing portfolio that will be a significant addition to GMACCM's portfolio. The acquisition will also include $5 billion in management accounts from the Debt Advisory Group and $21 billion in special servicing through the asset management unit. GMACCM can be found on the Web at http://www.gmaccm.com.

A rapidly growing Internet site for do-it-yourself owners who want to avoid paying hefty real estate commissions has added a mortgage shopping service aimed at homebuyers also looking to save a few bucks.YourLoanHelper.com will be "open to everyone, but in tune with the needs of independent homebuyers," said Colby Sambrotto, chief operating officer of the New York-based ForSaleByOwner.com. The site is licensed to operate in 48 states, Mr. Sambrotto said, and will maintain its own dedicated customer service team, along with a staff of mortgage counselors available around the clock. It will shop the market on behalf of potential borrowers and solicit proposals from competing primary lenders. Then it will make recommendations to consumers and let them follow through. Mr. Sambrotto said the service will shop a database of some 300 lenders. According to some industry estimates, one in four homes are currently being sold directly by their owners. ForSaleByOwner.com claims to be the country's leading resource for independent home sales, connecting buyers and sellers of homes both on- and off-line. The new service can be found at http://www.yourloanhelper.com.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to 5.62% for the week ending May 9 from 5.70% the previous week, and the one-year ARM rate hit a new record low, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.The average 15-year fixed mortgage rate fell from 5.03% to 4.97%, and the average rate for one-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgages fell from 3.74% to a new survey-record low of 3.66%. Fees and points averaged 0.7 points for all three mortgage categories. "It is amazing how resilient the American housing system continues to be," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. "Even in the face of recession, terrorist attack, and international conflicts, the housing industry is booming. New records have been set in originations, refinancing, and housing starts over the last few years, highlighting the industry as a strong, functional segment of the economy." A year ago, the average 30-year and 15-year fixed rates were 6.79% and 6.27%, respectively, and the average one-year ARM rate was 4.80%, Freddie Mac said.

Simon Property Group, Indianapolis, has reported net income of $55.1 million for the first quarter, an 84% rise from $30.0 million in the corresponding period of 2002.The retail real estate investment trust, the largest REIT by market capitalization in the regional mall subsector, saw its earnings per share rise 71% to $0.29 for the first quarter from $0.17 a year earlier. Simon's funds from operations, a widely used measure of earnings in the REIT industry, increased 22% to $177.4 million for the first quarter from $145.3 million a year earlier, the REIT said. "Our primary goal for 2003 is the improvement of our operating margins through increases in rental rates on new lease executions, increases in portfolio occupancy, and a continued focus on utilizing our economies of scale to drive down operating costs," said David Simon, Simon's chief executive officer. Simon can be found online at http://www.simon.com.

H. Curtis Jordan has been appointed president and chief operating officer of UniMortgage LLC, a subprime residential lender based in Jacksonville, Fla.Mr. Jordan joined the company in October as executive vice president. He has more than 30 years of industry experience, UniMortgage said, including 26 as executive vice president of EquiCredit Corp. UniMortgage can be found on the Internet at http://www.unimortgagellc.com.

The ratings on four classes of Salomon Brothers Commercial Mortgage Trust 2000-C3's commercial mortgage pass-through certificates have been lowered by Standard & Poor's.The downgrades were as follows: class K, from BB-minus to B-plus; class L, from B-plus to B; class M, from B to B-minus; and class N, from B-minus to CCC-plus. S&P also affirmed the ratings on 11 other classes in the same deal. The rating agency said the lowered ratings "reflect anticipated credit support erosion upon the eventual disposition of some of the specially serviced assets, particularly those secured by office properties, and concerns regarding some of the watchlist loans."

PFF Bancorp, Pomona, Calif., the holding company for PFF Bank & Trust and Glencrest Investment Advisors Inc., has announced the formation of a subsidiary that will arrange construction and equity financing and originate bridge and mezzanine loans for builders.The subsidiary, Diversified Builder Services Inc., will be headed by Kevin Brooks. Mr. Brooks, who has more than 15 years of experience in construction lending with PFF Bank, was most recently vice president/manager of major loans with the bank.

Delta Financial Corp., Woodbury, N.Y., has reached another milestone in its turnaround with the approval of its common stock for listing on the American Stock Exchange.Delta has been trading on the over-the-counter markets since it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange for not meeting standards. Delta is still finalizing the date on which trading will start on the Amex. Its ticker symbol is expected to change from DLTO to DFC. Delta's stock, which went from $20 per share down to $0.28 per share in 2001 because of the company's troubles, closed on May 6 at $3.42 per share.

The housing market is still on track for its second-best year on record, according to the National Association of Realtors.The NAR, which projected 5.34 million existing-home sales and 941,000 new-home sales for 2003 early in January, is now projecting 5.53 million resales and 956,000 new-home sales. Both numbers would rank second only to last year's 5.57 million and 974,000, the association said. "With most of the disruptions of unusual weather and war behind us, home sales should be fairly stable" this year, said David Lereah, the NAR's chief economist. The NAR is projecting that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate will rise to 6.3% by the end of the year (compared with the 7% it was forecasting in January) and that the gross domestic product will reach an annual growth rate of 3.9% in the third quarter, while averaging 2.3% for the year. The NAR can be found on the Internet at http://realtor.org.

The Market Composite Index, an overall measure of mortgage applications, surged to 1246.6 on a seasonally adjusted basis during the week ended May 2 from 1050.8 the week before, while the Purchase Index hit a record high, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.On an unadjusted basis, applications were up 18.8% on the week and 106.1% from the level recorded a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Purchase Index jumped from 356.0 to a record high of 416.0, and the Refinance Index surged from 5092.0 to 6077.8. Refinancings represented 68.7% of total applications, up from 68.4% the previous week, while adjustable-rate mortgages accounted for 13.1%. The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose from 5.51% to 5.53%, and points (including the origination fee) increased from 1.47 to 1.50 for loans with 80% loan-to-value ratios, the MBA reported. The MBA can be found online at http://www.mbaa.org.

The Mills Corp., a retail and entertainment real estate investment trust based in Arlington, Va., has issued 6.44 million shares of 8.75% series E cumulative redeemable preferred shares at $25 per share.The securities have no stated maturity, sinking fund, or mandatory redemption, and are not convertible into any other Mills securities, the company said. Net proceeds totaled $155.9 million, of which approximately $57.5 million will be used to fund the purchase of Cadillac Fairview's interests and a joint venture partner's interests in two regional retail malls in Atlanta, Mills said. The underwriters exercised a 30-day option to buy 840,000 shares of the stock to cover overallotments. The joint book-running managers for the offering are Merrill Lynch & Co. and RBC Capital Markets. Mills can be found online at http://www.millscorp.com.

James M. Goryeb has resigned as president of Champion Mortgage, KeyCorp has announced.Mr. Goryeb has served as president of Champion Mortgage, an affiliate of KeyCorp dealing in consumer real estate, since June 2001. His resignation is effective immediately. Mr. Goryeb said the reason for his resignation was a desire to pursue opportunities outside KeyCorp. Michael Butler, consumer finance executive for KeyCorp, will serve as interim president while Key looks for a permanent replacement. The companies can be found online at http://www.championmortgage.com and http://www.keybank.com.

Amidst an ongoing fight for control of the company, Atlanta-based Post Properties has reported a net loss of $23.5 million ($0.63 per share) for the first quarter, compared with net income of $14.2 million ($0.38 per share) a year earlier.Dave Stockert, Post's chief executive officer, said the real estate investment trust has cut costs in the past year and brought "Post's development exposure to a level consistent with current market conditions." Post is also selling older assets in its "most concentrated markets" and exiting some single-asset markets. In a related teleconference, Post said a shareholder lawsuit alleging a breach of fiduciary duty by the directors of the company (including ex-CEO John Williams) is not likely to affect its results. Post said in a news release that such litigation is "routine during hostile proxy contests" and is expected to be resolved in due course. Mr. Williams, who initiated the proxy fight, has sent a letter to the Post board in which he alleges that directors John Glover and Barry Teague, who have significant holdings in Post partnership units, were part of a group of directors who refused to consider an all-cash offer for the company. Mr. Williams has pledged to vote all his shares and partnership units, if such an offer is approved by an independent special committee of the board, regardless of the tax consequences to himself.

The New York State Banking Board has revised Part 41 of the board’s General Regulations -- the restrictions and limitations on high-cost home loans -- to make it consistent with the state's recently passed predatory lending law.The revisions include an expansion of the definition of points and fees, a reduction in the allowable points and fees threshold on a high-cost home loan, and restrictions on when a lender can charge points and fees at all. Another amendment requires lenders to make extra efforts to ensure that the borrower has the ability to repay the loan.

Sales of existing condominiums and cooperatives reached a record seasonally adjusted annual rate of 846,000 in the first quarter, up 3.4% from 818,000 a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors.The rate was 820,000 in the fourth quarter. The previous record was an annual rate of 824,000 units in the second quarter of 2002. "Younger households, including children of the baby boom generation, are taking advantage of low interest rates and getting into the housing market, while many of their parents' generation are seeking simpler lifestyles," said NAR chief economist David Lereah. "Lower-end and more affordable condo units are attractive to first-time buyers, especially in high-cost markets, while luxury units are meeting the preferences of wealthier households that are closer to retirement." The association also reported that the median existing-condo price was $150,700 in the first quarter, up 12.5% from that of a year earlier. The NAR can be found online at http://realtor.org.

United Financial Mortgage Corp., Oak Brook, Ill., has purchased Portland (Ore.) Mortgage Co.The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Both companies are mortgage bankers with wholesale and retail operations. Portland has six branches, four in Oregon and two in Washington state. It originated $476 million in 2002 and had revenues of $8 million. Ron Rudy, the founder of Portland Mortgage, will retain his current role as president of the company, which has become a division of United Financial. United Financial, a publicly traded company listed on the American Stock Exchange, can be found on the Web at http://www.ufmc.com.