Mortgages

U.S. Bankruptcy Court has ordered Mercer Rug Cleansing to sell its four real estate and business assets through auction.

Agency prepayment speeds came in line with expectations in the 30-year sector, where they were up 3% from the previous month, according to Credit Suisse's fixed income research report Wednesday.

Even though foreclosures and distressed properties will remain a significant part of the home sales market in Florida next year, plus the macro economic headwinds, economists cited by the state's Realtors said the market is in "a mini-recovery."

Walker & Dunlop Inc., a commercial mortgage banker, has opened an office in Nashville, which will focus on multifamily and healthcare loan originations through the Federal Housing Administration insurance program.

Care Investment Trust Inc., New York, has sold its interest in a medical office portfolio in order to concentrate on the senior living sector.

Servicers refinanced more than 85,000 high LTV loans under the Home Affordable Refinancing Program in the third quarter, up nearly 11% from the prior period, according to new figures compiled by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Application volume increased by 12.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Dec. 2, as rates fell to their lowest levels in two months.

The Attorneys General of California and Nevada are combining their investigative forces to combat misconduct and fraud within the mortgage industry against state homeowners.

Total Mortgage Services, Milford, Conn., said it has received regulatory approvals to fund residential loans in West Virginia.

Remember when "investor" was a four-letter word? Not anymore. Now, investors are all but saving the housing market.

Federally chartered thrifts originated $25.9 billion of single-family loans during the third quarter, up nearly 9% from 2Q, according to figures compiled by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

A key federal regulator is signaling that banking agencies are not close to formulating final regulations that address risk retention on mortgage securitizations.

Home prices fell 1.3% in October after a 1.1% decline in September, according to new figures release by CoreLogic.

Touting the success of the Treasury Department's New Issue Bond Purchase Program, a group of local housing finance agencies is urging the Obama administration to modify and extend the program, this time allowing the Treasury to exchange mortgage-backed securities it holds in its portfolio for MBS that wrap NIBP bonds.

Fannie Mae's PR department might contend that the GSE isn't in the business of servicing loans, but everyone in the mortgage business knows that such a statement is, shall we say, a misnomer. The government-controlled secondary market giant—as a technical matter—owns the servicing rights to every loan it guarantees, but it's the GSE seller/servicer that owns the “contract” to process those loans.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week hired Manoj K. Singh as principal examiner for risk, in charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON—Congress has handed the Federal Housing Administration a golden opportunity to increase its share of the jumbo mortgage market, but HUD secretary Shaun Donovan doesn't want to exploit the situation.

This is yet another column discussing running your mortgage originations business (be it broker or banker) like it was any other business. Successful business owners don't necessarily reinvent the wheel especially when it comes to what might be termed "human resources" stuff.

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to pay $315 million to settle claims that its Merrill Lynch unit made false and misleading statements about the quality of subprime mortgage-backed securities it sold to investors.

Equity Residential, a real estate company that owns and invests in multifamily properties, has agreed to purchase a 26.5% ownership stake in Archstone, which is in the same business, from Bank of America and Barclays Bank PLC, for $1.325 billion in cash. This move is the opening salvo in what is likely to turn into a battle over control of Archstone's assets.