Mortgages

The strong recovery in commercial real estate prices that commenced in early 2010 continues, albeit it “has lost steam over the last three quarters.”

The Federal Housing Administration has opened the bids for its Sept. 12 sale of 5,000 nonperforming formerly insured FHA loans and the results are “very, very positive.”

Loan officer compensation rules do not distinguish between reverse mortgages and traditional mortgages, per se. Rather, they make other distinctions.

Freddie Mac is adding some new innovations to upcoming commercial mortgage securities deals from its so-called K series.

First Valuation hired Sue Potteiger as its president to leverage the company’s proprietary valuation technology.

Foreclosure filings rose modestly in August compared to the prior month, as lenders are still struggling to work through the backlog of delinquent mortgages, according to RealtyTrac.

Old Line Bancshares Inc. has acquired WSB Holdings Inc. following a merger agreement that creates one of the largest banks serving the Maryland area.

Luther Burbank Savings has agreed to invest $2 million in low-income communities to settle a Justice Department lawsuit alleging it discriminated against minorities.

New computer software designed to help people pay off their mortgage, get out of debt and automate debt consolidation is coming to the U.S. from New Zealand.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is intensely focused on fair lending as well as fair servicing.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau opposes a proposed 20% downpayment requirement for low-risk mortgages.

A TD Bank homebuyer poll finds that American women place a higher value on homeownership than men do.

A crowd of more than 200 marched on the New York City offices of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae on Sept. 12, protesting the eviction of distressed homeowners and demanding Edward DeMarco, the acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, implement a principal reduction policy for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Open Market Committee said it would increase its holdings of agency mortgage-backed securities by $40 billion per month in a third round of quantitative easing.

Data show the vast majority of pre-retirees and older workers are overburdened by mortgage debt and other modern era expenses.

The Federal House Finance Agency is committed to building a common securitization platform that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both will use to issue their own MBS, but there will be no blending of their products.

Protesters gathered in Bryant Park in Midtown Manhattan yesterday, many wielding mops, buckets and brooms to “clean house” at the government-sponsored enterprises.

The average rate for a 30-year Freddie Mac loan stayed at 3.55% for the week ending Sept. 13 as markets speculated on the possibility of further stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

The only subprime servicers growing their A- to D portfolios are firms specializing in high-touch mortgages that others are desperately trying to unload.

Confirmed: some banks are buying and funding nonprime mortgages -- but the effort is small.