Originations

A change to the way Zillow charges for mortgage rate advertising is poised to shake up the world of online lead generation — an increasingly important source of new business, but one where lenders face a constant struggle between quality versus quantity.

The Supreme Court's recent ruling that the disparate impact theory of liability can be applied to the Fair Housing Act means mortgage lenders must be even more vigilant in their ongoing testing and evaluation of business practices that could be interpreted as even unintentional discrimination.

A survey of mortgage lending executives conducted by mortgage insurance company Genworth found that most executives believe that a disconnect exists between lenders and borrowers on who qualifies for a mortgage.

New technology developed by mortgage software vendor LoanLogics aims to automate and streamline closed-loan purchasing and quality control processes for correspondent investors.

BOK Financial has hired Glenn Brunker to oversee mortgage operations and manage the bank's transition to a new federally required consolidated mortgage disclosure regime.

The latest estimates of nonbank mortgage lender employment mark the largest number of workers since November 2013, and the biggest monthly hiring gain in six months.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending July 3.

Mortgage rates rose, sending the average for 30-year loans to the highest since October.

The share of U.S. home purchases made with cash has fallen to a five-year low as investors pull back from a property market that's rebounding without them.

The chief executive officers of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may see more than a sixfold increase in their compensation to $4 million in spite of objections from President Obama's administration and some lawmakers.

Walker & Dunlop, through the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Lean 232 program, closed the first Rental Assistance Demonstration program loan for a health care facility.

Lower gas prices can accelerate the home-selling process, and make the deal more lucrative for the seller, according to a new study.

Stonegate Mortgage will expand its consumer-direct operations in Scottsdale, Ariz., with plans to add about 50 employees.

The narrowing gap between what large and small lenders pay in guarantee fees to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has helped the industry's smallest originators grow their share of mortgages sold to the government-sponsored enterprises.

Manhattan apartment prices jumped to a record in the second quarter, pushed up by competition for a limited number of properties and strength in the luxury market.

After it all but stopped making real estate and development loans following the housing crash, Farmers & Merchants Bank has increased its real estate loans by more than 61% over the last two years. It's a figure that’s likely to keep rising as California's real estate market heats up and the $5.6 billion-asset bank continues to add commercial real estate, construction and mortgage lending specialists to keep pace.

Mortgage applications fell 4.7% from a week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly survey.

New York City's affordable housing stock will get a boost from Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. as part of settlements resolving mortgage-bond practices that led to the 2008 financial crisis.

The Federal Housing Administration's new loan defect "taxonomy" may give lenders better clarity on the quality assurance reviews of FHA loans, but it is not a shield from possible enforcement action by the Department of Justice and other regulators.

First and second mortgage originations have increased substantially in the first quarter of this year, according to a new report from credit reporting company Equifax.