Underwriting

The increase in refinance originations in the fourth quarter trickled down to the title insurers, which reported year-over-year gains in new orders.

As homeowners insurance becomes expensive and hard to find, mortgage loan officers should work closely with insurance agents, said Travis Hodges of Viu by Hub.

The new tool taps into Intercontinental Exchange's AllRegs database, which contains over a million pages of guidelines from various sources.

The private mortgage insurers reported just 5% less business versus the third quarter and 33% more new insurance written over the fourth quarter 2023.

Excess capacity remains in the mortgage origination cycle, and lenders need to cut costs and end the boom-and-bust hiring, Boston Consulting Group said.

The company, which became a depository in 2022, will be offering affordable housing products and initiatives in 45 states and the District of Columbia.

University Bancorp was to acquire a 50.5% stake in Blue Water, however the deal announced in July had yet close and Voxtur is starting a strategic review.

Mortgage applications for newly constructed homes continued to increase on a year-over-year basis, as existing home listings remain constrained.

Without admitting wrongdoing, Equifax agreed to pay $725,000 because of a three-week error which lowered credit scores for 77,000 New Yorkers.

The Federal Housing Administration mortgagee letter finalizes a draft put out for comment in November on the inclusion of rental payments from a boarder.

Even though senior home values are still near the all-time high, other data shows fewer are turning to reverse mortgages to ease a potential financial crunch.

Mortgage lenders increased their offerings of adjustable-rate and cash-out refinance loans in December as rates rose, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The share of waivers submitted with purchase mortgages sold to the government-sponsored enterprises accelerated just prior to a change that will make more loans eligible.

At least one buyer was looking for a barndominium, while another wanted a roller coaster, according to Zillow's analysis of data from its home search feature.

Separate forbearance and government-sponsored enterprise delinquency indicators both reached relatively high levels for the year, but not for the same reason.

The fiscal condition at the government agency is much healthier today than when the Department of Housing and Urban Development put the policy into effect back in 2013.

Six years after Pres. Trump signed Dodd-Frank reform, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued rules bringing these loans under Truth-in-Lending.

Nonagency issuances are expected to increase 85% for this year over 2023, and rise another 36% in 2025, the second best since the financial crisis.

PHH Mortgage announced it will be using the San Francisco-based technology company's Mortgage Suite, including Loan Officer Toolkit and Blend Close.

Continued reductions by the Federal Reserve in short-term interest rates should benefit mortgage volume, and thus title insurance activity, Fitch Ratings said.