Originations

The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage was 3.85% this week, up from 3.8% last week and the highest since mid-March.

Mortgage origination activity slowed in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, but showed improvement on a year-over-year basis.

WashingtonFirst Bankshares in Reston, Va., has agreed to buy direct mortgage lender 1st Portfolio Holding Corp. in Fairfax, Va.

With support from Bank of America, a nonprofit lender is trying to revitalize Detroit by offering no-down-payment mortgages at up to 150% of a home's assessed value. The idea is to provide borrowers with enough cash to buy run-down homes and fix them up, and if the program works as promised it could prove to be a template for lending in other cities — like Baltimore — that have large swaths of boarded-up homes.

A reduction in refinancings led to an overall fall in mortgage applications as interest rates rose across the board, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

PrimeLending, a subsidiary of PlainsCapital Corp., has created a program aimed at providing closing cost assistance for underserved communities.

ACORE Capital announced Tuesday its formation as a commercial real estate finance and risk management solutions provider.

ING Real Estate Finance said that Craig Bender will reclaim his position as managing director as ING relaunches its U.S. real estate lending operations.

Home values rose in April but could not fully make up for the decline the month prior, according to Quicken Loans.

A survey of housing experts found that, while most believe it will become easier to obtain a mortgage in the next few years, renters may still not buy homes because of their economic situations.

The New York Department of Financial Services has announced new title insurance rates for consumers who refinance their mortgage.

The number of mortgage loan products offered increased in April, driven by lenders adding the FHA's 203K home improvement program, VA offerings and jumbo products to their mix.

It's not clear how much capital European insurers will need to hold against their investments in U.S. securitizations or whether they can even invest in some of these deals at all.

Most banks appear to be coping well with the CFPB's ability-to-repay rule for mortgages, but the burden is falling harder on community banks. A new proposal that would allow more small lenders to grant home loans to borrowers with high levels of debt could help.

The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corp.'s net earnings rose in the first quarter to $13.3 million, more than seven times higher than its income of $1.8 million during the same period in 2014.

Learn how the some of the industry's most successful loan originators get it done with these tricks of the trade from the 2015 Top Producers rankings' top 12 loan officers of the West.

A lot of bankers want on-balance-sheet mortgages declared ultrasafe under federal rules, and Wells Fargo executive Brad Blackwell explains why he thinks it's in their self-interest more than ever to live up to their arguments in favor of such a policy.

Home prices climbed in 85% of U.S. metropolitan areas in the first quarter as low mortgage rates and the strongest labor market in almost seven years spurred demand.

Sutherland Asset Management has launched a bridge lending division called Ready Capital Structured Finance to strengthen its existing direct commercial lending platform.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice are taking a renewed interest in redlining, the practice of lenders charging more for products or excluding altogether minorities within certain geographic areas — and their findings may be surprising.