Originations

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a slower pace in the year ended in March as the housing market began to weaken at the start of 2014.

Research found the Ditech name still resonates with consumers after a five-year absence from the market, the lender says, though this incarnation won't be originating nonprime loans.

Democratic allies are hoping that, once confirmed, Julian Castro will focus on increasing affordable housing and making mortgage credit more available to first-time homebuyers.

Mortgage lenders may have managed to learn about hashtags and followers, but streaming audio and podcasts are still pretty mysterious to them.

Purchases of new homes rose in April for the first time in three months as buyers took advantage of falling mortgage rates.

ReverseVision has launched an online education platform aimed at teaching lending professionals about reverse mortgages.

The share of California homes sold in nondistressed, traditional sales transactions is at its highest level in seven years, according to data from the California Association of Realtors.

Servicing income rose last year but not enough to offset other expenses.

The government is not providing enough support to serve a wider range of homeowners, many lenders say. But it's doubtful that the private market can do much better at this point.

Prior to 2006, the industry primarily relied on enforcing lender representations and warranties. Recent widespread litigation has shown the immense costs of relying on cures. Prevention is a better solution.

Mortgage originators do not meet two of the eight required tests to qualify for tax purposes as statutory employees.

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are retaining more high-quality, conforming mortgages that they would normally sell to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, raising concerns that the banks are adversely selecting the weakest loans for the government-sponsored enterprises.

Mortgage rates fell for a fourth week, reducing borrowing costs for homebuyers during the key spring selling season.

Bank buyers and sellers should pay attention to the Fed's recent approval of Cullen/Frost's acquisition of WNB Bancshares. Cullen/Frost had to agree to improve its fair lending and other functions, underscoring the importance of buyers who work well in resolving compliance and other problems with regulators.

White papers don’t always get much respect in our industry, probably because so many are just veiled brochures, pitching products and services.

Fannie Mae cut its forecast of industrywide home purchase lending for 2014 to $710 billion from $732 billion, underscoring the housing industry's struggles despite overall positive signs for the economy.

Mortgage rates haven't dropped enough to give many consumers a reason to refinance again, although some who missed their chance last time are getting a "second bite at the apple."

Mortgage applications climbed for the third consecutive week as a drop in interest rates spurred refinancing.

A mortgage originator gives his take on whether the gift card giveaway violates RESPA's anti-kickback provision.

Increased overhead to support back-office compliance is driving up origination expenses to the point that mortgage bankers lost nine basis points on the loan origination function during the first quarter, preliminary Mortgage Bankers Association data show.