Underwriting

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.

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.

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.

Mortgage originators willing to help consumers overcome traditional financing hurdles can add more emerging segments of home buyers as clients.

Home prices rose 1% from March and 4.9% year-over-year in April, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Home equity line of credit delinquencies and net charge-offs have not increased as expected, largely due to the beneficial impact of improving home prices and steadier economic conditions, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

Westcor Land Title Insurance in Maitland, Fla., has opened its first New York office as it looks to expand in the market for commercial underwriting.

The New York City borough of Manhattan is the least affordable place for consumers making a low down payment to buy a home, according to a new report by housing and property data firm RealtyTrac of Irvine, Calif.

Mortgage rates barely budged from a week ago, even though reports have shown that the housing market is on the rebound with interest rates expected to rise.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new mortgage integrated disclosure rules will now take effect Saturday, Oct. 3, two days later than the previously rescheduled Oct. 1 deadline.

Bankers and commercial real estate developers are protesting new restrictions on construction lending, arguing they are poised to hurt credit availability and drive loans into risky, unregulated sectors.

Fannie Mae will no longer charge mortgage lenders to submit loans to its Desktop Underwriter automated underwriting system, a decision that follows a similar move by Freddie Mac earlier this month.

Fewer consumers today believe it's difficult to get a mortgage than a year ago. However, the majority of survey respondents still think the origination process is too tough and that there are too few homes on the market.

Many lenders may not have been ready for the CFPB's new mortgage disclosure rule if it took effect on Aug. 1 as planned. Now a slip-up by the agency itself has given lenders a two-month reprieve.

Pressure from community groups forced Valley National Bancorp to strengthen its commitment to lend in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods in order to win approval for a Florida acquisition. Other banks, too, are now placing CRA efforts front-and-center as they aim to sell deals to the public and their regulators.

Stonegate Mortgage Corp. is rolling out a new system that it says will give home-loan investors greater ability to handpick the debt they want to buy.

FHA tries to clarify what loan defects will bring the harshest penalties to guide lenders and instill more confidence.