Mortgages

Student loan payments can be up to 20% of a graduate's current monthly debt obligations. Based on current housing ratios, that does not leave a lot of room for mortgage payments.

The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday continued to shrink its stimulus program by yet another $10 billion clip.

The HAWK program could help participating lenders differentiate themselves from the flock. But the proposed mortgage insurance premium discounts for borrowers who receive counseling are too modest, industry members say.

Easier credit comes with relief from charge-offs on old building loans.

Mortgage applications fell last week as rising borrowing costs led to less purchases and refinancing.

Several federal agencies and 49 state attorneys general struck a $968 million settlement Tuesday with SunTrust Mortgage over charges that it violated laws governing mortgage origination, servicing and foreclosures.

Julian Castro pledged to recapitalize the FHA insurance fund and work with Congress on GSE reform but equivocated when a Senator asked about cities condemning underwater mortgages.

Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, introduced a new plan Tuesday to modify and extend the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

The program was previously available to first-time homebuyers only.

When the qualified mortgage rule took effect in January, many predicted the rule would stifle lending to low-income and minority borrowers. But a credit crunch never materialized, thanks to exemptions given to federal mortgage agencies.

Builders broke ground on 1 million homes in May, indicating the industry is picking up this quarter after a weather-induced slump to start the year.

Ocwen Financial Corp. agreed to pay $3.7 million to end a Massachusetts lawsuit claiming it didn't give homeowners required notices and illegally foreclosed on properties, the state’s attorney general said.

Smaller banks face a tricky choice with jumbo loans: hold them and face rate risk, or sell them to a bigger bank and risk losing a customer. An unusual arrangement between the FHLB and a REIT could offer community banks a better route.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recognized a distinction in terms of the treatment of persons working for a company based upon their classification as employees or contractors.

Reasons for the lackluster performance range from the severe winter to rising home prices (which put mortgage payments out of reach for some buyers) to tight credit to stagnating incomes.

Confidence among homebuilders rose in June by the most in almost a year, a sign the residential real estate market is stabilizing after reeling from severe winter weather earlier this year.

WinWater is the first new jumbo residential mortgage-backed securities issuer to put a deal in the pipeline since 2013. More new players could bring deals to market late this year.

The Bank of New York Mellon is planning to enter the reverse mortgage business.

Applications for mortgages to purchase new homes decreased 8% in May compared to April, according to Mortgage Bankers Association data released Friday.

Among the revelations: A large number of single-family homes built in 2013 weren't sold that year; single-family units, surprisingly, kept getting bigger; cash sales remain higher than before the recession.