Mortgages

The composition of the housing markets is changing, as are some key housing demographics, according to the latest edition of the National Association of Realtors' annual profile of buyers and sellers.

Delinquency rates on securitized commercial mortgages fell sharply in November for the first time in three months, but analysts at Trepp LLC don't see it as a trend.

Servicing risks tied to Veterans Administration-backed loans has left some firms exposed to losses that, among other things, create challenges when it comes to trading the underlying MSRs, but some market participants are showing interest in doing something to improve the situation.

GMAC Mortgage on Friday said it will no longer purchase loans originated by mortgage correspondents or brokers in Massachusetts, citing the regulatory environment in the state.

Title insurance firms wrote $2.35 billion of new business in the third quarter, down slightly from the same period last year, according to new figures compiled by the American Land Title Association.

Confidence surveys suggest consumer borrowing might be stabilizing as the economy shows signs of recovery, but it remains unlikely to increase in the short run, according to a Moody's conference call on the outlook for consumer finance.

The difference between a sales technique being effective, and sounding cheesy is sometimes like the old real estate adage: location, location, location.

The Treasury Department this week unveiled a new joint task force to fight mortgage scams aimed at struggling homeowners seeking payment relief under the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program.

Over the past week or so Bank of America began telling a select group of its warehouse lending clients that their lines would terminate within 30 to 90 days.

Looking for some decent housing news for a change? Try this: A major land developer with 22 master planned communities in 14 states has already equaled last year's sales.

Although some 4,700 units remain unsold from the last condo boom in South Florida, developers are now proposing to build 20 more towers in the tri-county area of Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.

Mortgage companies ramped up hiring in October, adding 1,500 full-time employees to their payrolls, according to government figures released Friday morning.

For several months Fannie Mae has insisted that it's not in the servicing business, but a recent 10-Q filing by the government-owned GSE reveals that it agreed to buy $74 billion of MSRs from Bank of America in the third quarter. No purchase price was disclosed.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate tracked by Freddie Mac during the week ending Dec. 1 came in 2 basis points higher at 4%, but still left the average for the past month below 4%.

Massachusetts on Thursday sued the nation's five largest residential servicers, alleging their foreclosure practices were unlawful and deceptive.

PHH Corp., Mt. Laurel, N.J., plans to sell $250 million of unsecured debt, using the proceeds to pay off an equal amount of debt that comes due next April.

The Federal Housing Administration is considering raising insurance premiums on loans above $625,500, according to HUD secretary Shaun Donovan.

The Prestwick Mortgage Group, Alexandria, Va., is brokering a $40 million package of Freddie Mac servicing rights for a community bank based in Florida.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner late this week had a message for those hoping to water down last year's financial regulatory overhaul — it's not going to happen.

The Federal Housing Administration endorsed $15.7 billion of single-family loans in October, a 3% decline from the previous month, according to new figures released Thursday morning.