Mortgages

Recent revisions made to the Home Affordable Refinancing Program appear to have sparked an increase in loan applications, raising hopes that more underwater mortgages could refinance.

There was nearly $5 billion in primary new insurance in January written by the members of the Mortgage Insurance Cos. of America, down from $5.8 billion in December.

Fannie Mae saw its secondary market purchases fall by 20% in January while its cross town competitor, Freddie Mac, experienced a 10% gain, a sign that, perhaps, the Bank of America "problem" could be affecting the business of the two GSEs.

The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage slipped five basis points to 3.9% in Freddie Mac's closely watched primary market rate survey for the week ending March 1.

Turning foreclosed properties into rentals on a mass scale will reduce "some of the fears that an avalanche of distressed properties" will rattle the housing market, according to a new report from Wells Fargo Securities.

While MERS QA is neither unreasonable nor unexpected, the challenges uncovered in the race to comply are significant. Never before has the industry asked servicers to ensure the data of originators.

Like carnival barkers at the county fair, mortgage brokers and realtors are urging underwater homeowners to hurry, hurry, hurry on their short-sale plans.

In the end, MetLife Inc. wasn't crazy about the residential finance business, but it had a darn good quarter origination wise, according to final survey figures the company provided to National Mortgage News.

When purchasing distressed properties across the country, buyers continue to be more interested in acquiring pre-foreclosed homes rather than bank-owned assets, according to the latest figures from RealtyTrac.

Whether you like it are not, you are a manager. The only question: Are you a good manager?

The Federal Home Loan Bank System has made a pitch to the National Credit Union Administration that could tap the credit union movement for tens of billions of dollars in new funds.

Residential real estate markets "improved somewhat" in most parts of the U.S., especially in home sales, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report released Wednesday afternoon.

It would appear that the future is starting to brighten for loan brokers, at least according to new figures released by the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System, which shows an increase in the number of state-licensed LOs and mortgage companies.

The Obama administration's plan to refinance underwater borrowers with private-label mortgages was supposed to be dead on arrival -- but it appears Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, wants to hear more.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s quarterly bank earnings report shows bank mortgage portfolios increased 1.4%, to $1.88 trillion, at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011.

ClosingCorp has introduced a business-to-consumer online loan cost estimate calculator that includes a lead generation component, and is offering it in conjunction with real estate Internet sites.

The Default Reconciliation Report provides an improved level of valuation diligence for nonperforming and REO assets in order to help residential property servicers and investors make confident acquisition, pricing and disposition decisions.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced the sale of the rest of the securities in the Maiden Lane II LLC (ML II) portfolio.

Residential loan applications fell 0.3% for the week ending February 24 while refinancings continued to dominate the business, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers has launched a $1.2 billion loan foreclosure mitigation program to help alleviate housing problems for individuals struggling to stay or purchase homes in low-income metropolitan statistical areas.