Mortgages

Step aside, spring. Summer is becoming the new hot season for home buying, according to a Florida Atlantic University economist.

KeyCorp's $4.1 billion bid to buy First Niagara Financial Group Inc. is facing scrutiny over a U.S. investigation into First Niagara's minority lending practices, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Home prices nationwide in March were just 3.8% down from their June 2006 peak, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose faster than projected in March from a year earlier, adding to signs of healthy demand at the onset of the industry's busy selling season, S&P/Case-Shiller reported Tuesday.

Craig Strent of Apex Home Loans saw potential in blending his mortgage banking services with the strategy of financial advising, finding strong partners and a niche in helping clients through one of life's most difficult transitions.

Little Rock, Ark.-based startup Mortgage Peer Network was chosen as one of 10 companies to participate in FIS' VC FinTech Accelerator Program.

JPMorgan Chase has received credit for $3.89 billion of consumer relief, plus it says it has provided an additional $113 million, putting the bank over the top on its obligation.

Banks have rushed to the exits when it comes to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debt securities. Federal liquidity rules seem to be prompting big banks to do so, but why small banks are unloading the bonds, too, is more of a puzzler.

Homebuyers are growing more worried about competition from other buyers, but housing affordability remains their No. 1 concern, a survey by the real estate brokerage Redfin found.

After a series of recommendations this year that didn't quite go as planned, Goldman Sachs has a new top trade idea.

Many appraisers are charging more or simply refusing to do FHA work, which to their minds now comes close to, if not crossing into, the remit of the home inspector.

Incenter Mortgage Advisors is brokering the sale of a $1.4 billion Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bulk residential mortgage servicing rights portfolio.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending May 27.

Miami’s crop of new condo towers, built with big deposits from Latin American buyers and lots of marketing glitz, are opening with many owners heading for the exits.

The CFPB alleges that David Eghbali, a loan officer for a Wells Fargo branch in Beverly Hills, Calif., developed a scheme to manipulate escrow fees in order to close more mortgages and boost his bonus. Eghbali says he was forced to sign a settlement because he couldn't afford to fight the CFPB in court.

New Jersey Community Capital, a nonprofit community development financial institution, made the winning bid for Fannie Mae's third "community impact pool" of nonperforming loans.

The Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development is not backing down on his concerns about premium pricing associated with the down payment assistance programs by the Federal Housing Administration.

Detroit’s renaissance has had spillover effects, including a sharp reduction in the frequency of fraud, misrepresentation and other defects in mortgage applications, First American Financial Corp. said Thursday.

Homes owned by single men are more valuable and appreciate faster than properties owned by single women, according to an analysis from RealtyTrac.

The bank's new low-down-payment mortgage, an alternative to FHA loans, dispenses with the complex qualification requirements that have hampered recent efforts with low down payments by Fannie and Freddie.