Mortgages

Lenda, a new mortgage company backed by Silicon Valley investors, wants to supplant the traditional loan officer with consumer self-service technology.

Home values have risen fastest in markets where institutional buyers bought up scores of foreclosed homes and then rented them out. But these investor have largely curtailed their buying, and may even be ready to start selling off more properties to profit from the run-up in home prices. That could be good news for first-time buyers.

Mortgage credit availability loosened in December, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The number of homes in negative equity continued to lessen through the end of the third quarter, according to CoreLogic.

Being a mortgage originator means juggling many tasks but marketing your business takes precedence above all of the others.

Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level in more than a year and a half as falling oil prices and concerns about the strength of the euro drove investors to the safety of the U.S. government bonds that guide borrowing costs.

Late payments on home equity loans fell in the third quarter while delinquencies on home equity lines of credit rose slightly, the American Bankers Association said in a report issued Thursday.

Private mortgage insurance stocks tumbled Wednesday amid news that President Obama is expected to announce cuts to the Federal Housing Administration's annual premiums.

SecurityNational Mortgage has made its final payment on a $4.3 million financial crisis-era settlement with Wells Fargo.

President Obama is expected to announce a half-percentage-point reduction in the Federal Housing Administration's annual premium during a housing policy speech Thursday in Phoenix.

Consumers remained cautious about the housing market in December despite optimism that the economy is improving, according to Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday authorized the first use of drones for real estate photography.

The diversity of the U.S. population is at a tipping point and originators need to prepare to serve the needs of this growing pool of customers.

Mortgage applications dropped over the last two weeks of last year even as interest rates remain at or below the 4% mark.

Takeovers among real estate investment trusts are poised to accelerate as shareholder activism increases and executives become more receptive to deals, according to research firm Green Street Advisors.

The residential and mortgage-backed securities market has seen "substantial improvements," according to Fitch Ratings.

An independent mortgage bank will sell a mortgage servicing rights portfolio with $4.2 billion in unpaid principal balance, an advisor to the transaction announced this week.

Manhattan apartment prices jumped to the highest point since their 2008 peak as buyers competed for a limited supply of homes and deals were completed in new luxury developments.

Tree.com has adopted its marquee LendingTree brand for its new corporate name.

Ranieri Partners and WL Ross & Co. are selling its commercial real estate advisory services company, Situs, to Stone Point Capital.