Mortgages

Sales of new homes rose in June by less than forecast and purchases were revised lower in the three prior months, the latest sign of weakness for the housing sector.

Home sales in central Ohio and elsewhere dropped in June, while competition among buyers escalated.

In an unwelcome turn for a city suffering from a homelessness crisis, federal housing officials said they have denied Los Angeles $80 million in funds, citing long-standing failures by local leaders to ensure that properties built with government money are accessible to those who use wheelchairs or have other disabilities.

With retaining and maintaining customers being a perpetual challenge for independent mortgage brokers, Home Point Financial launched a technology platform to bolster recapture rates.

The incentives are stronger than ever to work toward standardizing the documentation, language and process for loans in commercial mortgage-backed securities to be combined with PACE financing.

While seasonal factors were attributed to the monthly rise in mortgage delinquencies for June, the jump was still much higher than last year's fairly steady increase, according to Black Knight.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is monitoring how the bankrupt Ditech Holding Corp. handles borrower-sensitive issues like foreclosure proceedings, and is backing the involvement of a consumer creditors' committee.

The bank is siding with a growing list of groups, including the U.S. trustee, attorneys general from several states and consumers, who object to Ditech's plan to sell its reverse mortgage business.

MGIC reported higher-than-expected earnings, seen as a positive for the other mortgage insurers, plus Flagstar and KeyCorp had strong quarters for their mortgage businesses.

Southwest Florida apparently escaped the free fall in foreign investment in residential real estate that hit much of the country. And the Sunshine State remains the most appealing to those property buyers, besting California and Texas.

Sales of previously owned homes declined in June, missing estimates in the latest sign of weakness for the housing market.

High demand, low inventory and multiple offers on homes are common in Spokane, Wash., which has become one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation.

With housing supply constrained and mortgage rates on a downslope throughout the year, buyers jumped at purchasing a home when the opportunity arose in June, according to Redfin.

Two key economic forces are responsible for driving single-family housing forward, but their potential is limited, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Liberty Home Equity, a subsidiary of Ocwen Financial, is offering a new private-market alternative to Federal Housing Administration-insured reverse mortgages.

Black Knight created a pair of tools for its MSP servicing system in order to help mortgage services identify loans in their portfolio tied to areas affected by natural disasters.

Through the first half of the year, there have has been 2,000 single-family homes sold countywide, a 6.45% decline from the comparable period last year when 2,138 homes were sold.

With more houses on the market, fewer North Texas home sellers getting their original asking price.

Forecasts for residential remodeling growth are looking dimmer, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing for the mortgage market.

From the Carolinas to the Sunshine State, here's a look at the cities offering the biggest job growth over the past five years.