Mortgages

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.23% for the week ending March 23, down from last week when it averaged 4.3%.

Servicers are able to borrow more against their Ginnie Mae mortgage servicing rights as financing providers become more comfortable with the collateral.

After a powerful surge in home and condo prices in Chicago during January, growth settled down in February and is expected to keep a moderate pace through the spring selling season.

Purchases of new homes increased in February to a seven-month high, indicating the effects of the recent rise in borrowing costs on the residential real estate market have been modest.

In a move they say could help decrease homelessness, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to look into creating a legal defense program and providing financial assistance to help residents avoid eviction.

Orange County, Calif., home sales dipped in February, a time when sales typically rise, a new housing report shows.

Foreclosures in Minnesota last year were about 26% lower than the year before, dropping to the lowest level in more than a decade.

In Broward County, Fla., median home sale prices increased and inventory on the market decreased in February.

Mortgage applications decreased 2.7% from one week earlier after the Fed announced a rate hike, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Sales of previously owned homes declined in February after rising a month earlier to the highest level in a decade, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Freddie Mac is bolstering its relationships with housing finance agencies after it fell short of reaching two affordable housing goals last year.

Mortgage lenders have already begun to feel the burn of higher interest rates.

Loans originated in the fourth quarter of 2016 carried less credit risk, according to the latest Housing Credit Index from CoreLogic.

PHH Mortgage Corp. will lay off 69 employees in Amherst, N.Y., at the end of June and then exit the Wehrle Drive building it leases.

First- and second-lien mortgage default rates increased slightly in February, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.

February homes sales fell 2.6% in Wisconsin, but a shortage of homes on the market is leading to higher prices.

A federal jury has convicted two businessmen on multiple bank fraud charges related to falsifying loan documents to postpone foreclosure on a parcel of land in Aurora, Ill., worth nearly $2 million.

The number of homes in foreclosure across Washington is down by nearly 40% compared with a year ago.

Lennar Corp. reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat analysts' estimates and said new orders increased, signaling the start to a strong spring selling season.

Experian and Finicity have released a product that aims to speed up decisions on mortgage applications, using financial data aggregation technology.