Mortgages

New-home sales in the Houston area rose for the fourth straight month in May, but the market could be tightening as the number of pending sales continued to decline, a new report showed.

Mortgage applications decreased by 3.4% this week, although refinance activity remained close to its 2019 high point, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

It is the largest single commitment from a tech company to fight the housing shortage that threatens to stall the economic engine of Silicon Valley, as even well-paid workers must wrestle with escalating rents or finding a home to buy.

The little-known unit was launched in the wake of efforts by the CFPB and HUD to cut back on fair-lending activities, but the reach of the 10-month-old office is still unclear.

The bipartisan proposal aims to renew banks' interest in low-income housing tax credits and bring more lower-priced homes to markets that badly need them.

Ditech Holding Corp. has entered into purchase agreements with New Residential Investment Corp. and Mortgage Assets Management, in which each would acquire certain assets in the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

As Amazon looms over the mortgage industry, expert views differ on the retail monolith claiming its stake in the sector.

The Citigroup mortgage unit is not the first lender to be tripped up by California law requiring the interest payments on escrow impound accounts.

Alternative investment manager Pretium plans to buy Deephaven, a residential mortgage-backed securities issuer that operates outside the qualified mortgage market, from Varde Partners.

While single-family construction authorizations rose for the first time on a monthly basis in 2019, they trailed three-month and annual comparisons, signs of a continuing market slump, according to BuildFax.

New-home construction fell in May after an April reading that was stronger than initially reported, signaling stabilization in the market amid lower borrowing costs.

The Rapid City Council will consider whether to approve what officials believe is the largest residential subdivision that the city has seen in decades.

Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro called for a sharp rise in federal spending on housing for millions of Americans who are living on the street or struggling to pay rent.

The spring housing market brought some good news for both homebuyers and sellers as conditions eased up on both sides of the fence, according to Remax.

New York's sweeping rewrite of rent stabilization laws could pose a credit risk to lenders that finance capital improvements to regulated apartment properties, according to a report Monday by Fitch Ratings.

Sentiment among homebuilders unexpectedly posted the first decline this year, suggesting lower mortgage rates are failing to give the housing market a sustained boost amid property prices that remain out of reach for many buyers.

Housing finance agencies reported increased demand for their loan products, but at the same time the inventory shortage constrains activity and drives them to work with other public entities to find solutions, Moody's said.

Mortgage Industry Advisory Corp. will collect bids Tuesday on behalf of a seller for a more than $1 billion mortgage servicing rights package that includes securitized loans with alternative remittance cycles.

With mortgage rates expected to continue their recent slides over the next 18 months, in tandem with slowed economic growth, loan originations should see a jump through 2020, according to Fannie Mae.

Nearly $300 million of municipal debt sold 12 years ago to expand Central New York's Destiny USA shopping mall were dropped to junk-level Ba2 by Moody's Investors Service.