Originations

A flattening of the yield curve could spell good news for the mortgage market, according to Fitch Ratings.

But the strong demand for tax credits from those projects is also whittling down the investment returns as their riskiness declines, according to a new report by the New York-based accounting firm CohnReznick.

A recent tax change will provide more stability to banks and developers that use the low-income housing tax credit program, and the supply of below-market-rate apartments should increase as a result. But it's not enough to create the economic incentives needed to meet skyrocketing demand for affordable housing in the U.S.

Some lenders have asked whether the bureau would adjust its so-called resubmission guidelines — which determine whether lenders have to refile data based on errors found in samples — and it has responded with a request for further industry input.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Jan. 8.

Mortgage credit availability decreased in December on reduced affordable, low-down-payment loan programs, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Federal Reserve's interest rate increase has commercial real estate debt and equity financing players even more upbeat about their prospects in 2016.

Ditech Financial, a subsidiary of Walter Investment Management, is exiting the distributed retail mortgage production channel.

Consumers became more encouraged by the housing market in December, as they reflected on their higher wages compared to a year earlier, Fannie Mae said.

Owens Realty Mortgage has promoted its chief financial officer, Bryan Draper, to chief executive and president.

Forget bigger is better. Several private-equity-backed lenders are making loans to small landlords, who represent the biggest chunk of the home-rental market and get less help from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than they once did.

Mortgage rates rang in the new year by keeping below 4%, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

CoreLogic has purchased the remaining 49.9% ownership in RELS LLC, becoming the real estate asset valuation and appraisal services provider's sole owner.

Mortgage applications dropped 27%% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the two weeks ending Jan. 1, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey.

The more aggressive nonbank lenders are attracting top producers by essentially allowing loan officers to set their own rate of pay. While so-called "pick-a-pay" compensation plans are not illegal, critics say they can encourage loan officers to steer consumers into more expensive loans in order to increase their own pay.

Increased enthusiasm for automated valuations presents an opportunity for the appraisal industry to develop tools that combine high-efficiency, low-cost processes with the accuracy of human expertise.

Home prices across the country rose 6.5% year-over-year in November 2015, including distressed sales, according to CoreLogic.

SharperLending has registered its Appraisal Firewall software product as a lender agent with the Federal Housing Administration.

The demand for affordable rental properties has long outstripped the supply, with the gap widening as incomes have stagnated, homeownership rates have fallen and rents have soared in recent years. But now, banks are finding a profitable path to helping ease this severe national shortage.

Manhattan home prices surged to a record in the fourth quarter, propelled by closings of luxury deals in new developments that were agreed to years ago, when construction was just starting on many of the buildings.