Mortgages

There is growing evidence that Washington is making the same mistake with respect to the housing and mortgage markets.

First mortgages increased 2.8% from a year earlier in February, the largest year-over-year uptick since September 2008.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is striking an optimistic tone for mortgage finance reform, saying she’s hopeful that a Senate Banking Committee plan to overhaul the market could make it to the chamber floor for a vote this year.

Farmers have been benefiting from steady increases in commodity prices in recent years, partly driven by extreme weather. But the underpinnings of that growth seem to be on the wane.

Purchases of new homes fell in February to the lowest level in five months, a sign the industry may take time to pick up after inclement weather damped demand earlier in the year.

Home sales activity rose in most of the largest U.S. counties in February after a slowdown in January, but total sales remain far below historical levels, according to DataQuick.

Federal regulators issued a proposal Monday that would establish standards for states that register and supervise appraisal management companies.

Foreclosures and home loan delinquencies dropped in February while the refinancing slowdown continued, according to a monthly report from Black Knight Financial Services.

Colony American Homes has appointed Beth O'Brien as president of its single-family lending unit.

The lender is getting huge brand recognition for its offer to pay $1 billion for someone to correctly pick the entire NCAA championship bracket, at very low risk.

On the surface, it seems mortgage firms must explain valuation reports to each new applicant or eliminate the use of lower-cost advanced valuation intelligence. However, there may be another option.

Are you a “Success Superstar?” Success can be defined in many ways. One definition is “the achievement of one’s goals.” Your goal last year might have been to be included in the list of Top 200 Loan Originators for 2013. Did you accomplish that goal? Or maybe it was to lose 10 pounds, gain 10 new referral partners, or even spend more time with your family and read more books.

Lenders should avoid repeated mistakes in their process as they could be used as evidence of a fraudulent intention to originate loans without proper safeguards and underwriting processes.

Higher rates, mounting costs and the opportunity to lend to underserved borrowers have pushed some residential lenders to lower their minimum FICO scores, despite broader reluctance to take more risk in a heavily-regulated market.

Housing and lending groups are urging the government sponsored enterprise regulator and conservator to keep the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan limits where they are for now.

The former owner of a New York mortgage loan modification business was sentenced Friday to serve nine years in prison for defrauding hundreds of distressed homeowners and their lenders.

The title insurance industry generated $12.7 billion in written premiums during 2013, up 11.5% from the prior year.

Most housing markets are faring better than they did in the depths of the recession, but the recovery still has a long way to go.

Lenders and servicers are worried about the cost of dealing with widows and widowers who didn't sign the mortgages if they can't be foreclosed upon.

When a lawyer wields a regularly updated, 150-page compliance manual as evidence against a mortgage servicer, it's more important than ever to make sure company documents are heavy on details.