Mortgages

New optimism about the possibility of plans to address Europe's fiscal concerns boosted most industry stock values.

Walker & Dunlop, LLC, Bethesda, Md., on Monday announced that it has hired Dale Brem as vice president and deputy chief underwriter for the firm's FHA finance department.

Quicken Loans says it is waiting for mortgage insurance companies to issue guidance before it starts refinancing GSE loans with existing MI policies under the new Home Affordable Refinance Program.

Mortgage balances on consumer credit reports dropped by about $114 billion or 1.3% during the third quarter, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's latest report on household debt and credit.

The Attorney General of Arizona has filed a complaint against Mortgage Capital USA and its CEO, Gustavo Anaya, for allegedly conducting an illegal home loan modification scheme involving multiple business entities.

DebtX is currently selling $416 million in performing and nonperforming loans for 14 financial institutions and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

It would seem that Federal Housing Finance Agency chief Edward DeMarco has given up hope that Congress will get around to permanently fixing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Administration in early December will seek bids on a small pool of defaulted single-family loans and plans to conduct additional auctions in April and September of next year.

Government officials are likely to lessen large banks' liabilities over how they handled delinquent Federal Housing Administration-insured mortgages as part of a settlement with the largest mortgage servicers, according to people briefed on the negotiations.

Even though the residential mortgage industry has been through the wringer the past four years outside money is continuing to eye the sector, but is being choosey about what it buys -- and how much it spends on both companies and servicing rights.

When you consider making a significant contribution into a cause or charity, you usually have a reason or purpose for giving to that specific organization. It might have been that the particular “cause” helped you or your family at one time. Or it might be you witnessed that charity make a difference in someone else's life.

Among the consequences of the mortgage bust is that any number of parties in the mortgage chain, including the secondary market and regulators, are scrutinizing the quality of appraisals tighter than ever.

The PMI Group Inc., Walnut Creek, Calif., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.

After more than a year of declines, foreclosure activity rose in Massachusetts in October, according to the Boston-based real estate data publisher The Warren Group.

Given how volatile the public capital markets have been recently, some real estate investment executives speaking in New York recently said they have been finding private markets relatively more attractive.

The average weekly rate for a 30-year loan slipped slightly below 4% and rates for adjustable-rate mortgages averaged new record lows in Freddie Mac's survey Wednesday.

The government-sponsored enterprises' Uniform Mortgage Data Program has been marred with delays and setbacks since the earliest steps began at Fannie Mae two-and-a-half years ago with the precursor to the Uniform Collateral Data Portal, the technology platform that will accept full electronic appraisal reports in a new XML-formatted data file.

Freddie Mac reported a 24% jump in refinancings from September to October while total loan volume rose by less than 4%.

Lennar Corp. has upsized its senior debt offering to $350 million and priced it at a 3.25% interest rate. It first proposed selling $300 million in debt. The over-allotment for the offering was also increased to $50 million from $45 million.

Application volume fell by 1.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ended Nov. 18, as purchase apps were up to their highest level since August, but refinancings were down to their lowest point since July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The data for the previous week (Nov. 11) was adjusted to take into account Veterans Day.