Underwriting

Mortgage credit availability tightened during March to its lowest level in over a year, adding another headwind to a market challenged by rising interest rates and a shortage of homes for sale.

Carrington Mortgage Services' decision to offer subprime mortgage loans was a natural progression from its decision four years ago to concentrate on borrowers with credit scores under 640.

Mortgage rates held largely steady for the week, dropping only 1 basis point, according to Freddie Mac.

Lenders should not get so desperate chasing volume by originating lower credit non-qualified mortgage products that they are inviting the next regulatory crackdown, said David Stevens, the Mortgage Bankers Association's CEO.

Servicers are still trying to figure out how they can best take advantage of the growing use of electronic notes and other digital mortgage tools by lenders and the secondary market.

Mortgage rates posted a slight increase this week following the Federal Open Markets Committee's decision to boost short-term rates by 25 basis points, according to Freddie Mac.

Fidelity National Financial's proposed purchase of Stewart Information Services could solidify FNF's leading market share among title insurers if regulators don't balk at its scope.

Fannie Mae is about to roll out a new underwriting system that will address some concerns about layered risk that cropped up after it raised its maximum debt-to-income ratio.

Mortgage lenders are growing more pessimistic about their profitability, with the highest percentage ever seen in Fannie Mae's first-quarter industry sentiment survey expecting a decline in margins.

After increasing for nine consecutive weeks, mortgage rates dropped for the first time in 2018, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Freddie Mac and Arch Capital are testing a new form of risk-sharing deal to boost investor appetite for low down payment mortgages. But the pilot is raising concerns about "charter creep" because it dictates private mortgage insurance decisions typically made by lenders.

Community banks and consumer advocates are clashing over a provision in the Senate banking bill on mortgage data reporting, but there’s been little vetting of what the measure would actually do.

February's volume of mortgage loan applications for newly constructed homes rose both year-over-year and month-to-month, continuing the momentum from a surprisingly strong showing in January.

Think you know your IRRRL from your LPMI? See if you can ace this quiz of 10 quirky abbreviations from the origination sector of the mortgage industry.

If GSE reform leads to the 30-year mortgage's demise, homebuyers' monthly payments could soar by $400, according to a recent Zillow estimate. But lenders aren't convinced this housing finance staple is in any danger of being replaced.

Mortgage rates increased for the ninth consecutive week, moving in reaction to bond and stock market volatility.

Loan program revisions made by one large conventional mortgage investor led to a decrease in total residential home finance credit availability in February.

Today's mortgage broker is tech savvy, sophisticated and better equipped to thrive in a wholesale channel that's far more competitive than in the past.

Mortgage lenders are embracing the broker-wholesale channel as a low-cost way to extend their reach and maintain volume in the face of rising home prices and interest rates that are putting a damper on origination activity.

Tight margins, regulatory clarity and a renewed appetite to expand have made mortgage brokers and the wholesale channel attractive again, at least to the small and medium mortgage lenders.