Mortgages

Most foreign investors expect to put more money into U.S. property this year than they did in 2015, with New York remaining the top target market worldwide, according to a survey by the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate.

Rather than relying on a formal marketing services agreement to get business, loan officers now have to prove that they can provide realty agents and consumers the best mortgage experience.

East West Bancorp paid $118.4 million to terminate single-family and commercial shared-loss agreements with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., tied to a failed bank acquisition.

Mortgage professional hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Jan. 1.

Mortgage rates rose, with the 30-year average topping 4% for the first time in five months, after the Federal Reserve's decision to increase its benchmark lending rate.

Mortgage lenders on both the residential and commercial sides of the business will have to deal with a different lending environment in 2016. These include enforcement of TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure violations plus rising interest rates and the impact on origination volumes. Here are 10 observations that originators need to mull over while crafting their business plans for the coming year.

The plunge in oil prices may jeopardize almost $125 million of securitized loans backed by real estate in North Dakota, as drillers in the state scale back operations, Morningstar Credit Ratings said.

Jason Evans of Mortgage Master sees his business thrive through close attention to the finer points of customer experience.

Home values rose in 2015 — though at a declining pace — with overall rent payments also trending upwards, according to Zillow.

Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index in October signaled ever-stabilizing circumstances across a growing number of regions.

Radian Guaranty Inc. is in compliance with the government-sponsored enterprises capital standards after receiving $325 million in cash and securities from parent company Radian Group Inc.

For commercial real estate investors, the good times may be over.

From the rollercoaster ride toward the TILA-RESPA implementation deadline to concerns about other areas the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would zero in on for scrutiny, these seven stories dominated National Mortgage News during 2015. Following are both the stories and an update on where the situation stands now.

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes unexpectedly fell in November, confirming that the industry lost momentum toward the end of the year.

"The allegations of discrimination and predatory practices raised by the reporting are obviously very concerning to the bureau," a CFPB official said Tuesday.

Mortgage application defects reached a record low in November, according to First American Financial Corp.

RAIT Financial Trust said it closed on its fifth commercial real estate collateralized loan obligation.

Technology hubs overlapped with the nation's hottest housing markets in 2015, according to a ranking by online brokerage Redfin.

Surging prices have almost closed off the new-home market to young buyers like Brandon and Quincey Lindemann. But the Denver-area couple has found a way in.

A number of factors, including the shift back to a purchase market and burgeoning Hispanic and millennial demographics, are expected to spur mortgage industry hiring across the board in 2016, with one major exception: appraisers.