Mortgages

Economists have been expecting long-term rates to remain low this year because the Federal Reserve recently extended its Operation Twist program, maintaining downward pressure that the program puts on long-term rates.

A federal indictment charged 11 individuals for their roles in a $15 million mortgage fraud scam that used straw buyers to make illegal profits on overbuilt condominiums in New Jersey.

The June median price in the six-county Southern California region rose 1.7% from May and 5.3% from a year ago.

Although loan originations have been booming at Caliber Funding this year, the lender’s aggressive CEO, Brian Simon, has departed the company without explanation.

The September expiration date for the Small Business Administration's secondary market program for the first lien position means that first mortgages will no longer be eligible for a government guarantee.

Much has been printed about how high the average FICO score is at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac these days. (The weighted average FICO at Fannie, for instance, is north of 760.) But we’re told lower FICOs are out there.

The Texas community banker who's leading the courtroom fight against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took his case to Capitol Hill.

Just as lending was starting to catch fire, some banking executives are already pouring cold water.

Habitat for Humanity is expressing concern about the potential impact of the so-called qualified mortgage rule on its ability to build homes for people in need.

Ivan Choi has been voted incoming chair-elect of the Asian American Real Estate Association of America.

NMN won a silver ASPBE award for the editorials “Big Difference, Depending On Which Loan” and “Unfunded Applications at $1 Trillion,” which appeared on Nov. 7 and Nov. 28, 2011.

GSE lenders and servicers refinanced more high LTV Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans during the first five months of this year than they did all of last year.

In reaction to the mortgage industry’s woes, and in some cases in spite of them, technology has marched on giving us new tools, techniques, and tactics that enhance our ability to be vigilant.

For those of you who doubted my thoughts on mortgage deconsolidation, I forgive you. But it had to happen—deconsolidation, that is.

Mortgage brokers and bankers have been waiting anxiously for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue its loan officer compensation rule. This is the rule where the agency convened a ‘Small Business’ panel in the spring to weigh in on compensation and lender education issues. Needless to say, few in the industry came away happy with what was told to them by the agency.

Sometimes, your prospect is more interested in accepting your sales opportunity than you are in making the sale.

Since agreeing to a consent order with federal regulators last year, Wells Fargo has embarked on an aggressive plan to implement new loss mitigation strategies and improve upon existing practices.

Competition is heating up in the mortgage market as more lenders increase their production capacity, according to the chief financial officer of Fifth Third Bancorp.

Tom Wind, the executive VP of residential and consumer lending at EverBank and an industry veteran whose mortgage banking experience goes back over 20 years, believes the jumbo loan market is in growth mode. Overall housing market improvements and loan limit changes have opened the door to more growth, he said. “The jumbo business out there is starting to rebuild.

Fannie and Freddie are developing enhanced and aligned strategies for facilitating short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure and deeds-for-lease in order to help more homeowners avoid foreclosure