Mortgages

The number of consumers who signed contracts to buy homes fell for the third straight month in September after the traditional spring/summer buying season failed to entice many new buyers.

During the first nine months of the year Fannie Mae issued $16.7 billion of multifamily MBS, already surpassing its volume for all of last year.

After dropping 1.5% in 2011, home prices should be flat next year and finally gain traction in 2013, according to Macroeconomic Advisers chairman Joel Prakken.

Social media survival skills—if you want to become famous in your little corner of the mortgage world, there are some things you simply must do!

The Federal Housing Administration endorsed $217.8 billion of 'forward' single-family loans in fiscal year 2011, down 27% from the previous year, according to new figures released by HUD.

With outsourcing and industry needs in general more focused on the servicing side of the business today, it begs the question of how third-party providers are positioning themselves to make the eventual, cyclical shift to a more origination-focused market. It appears the answer is that most are counting on modifications as the likely linchpin for the change.

Ocwen Financial Corp. is on a shopping spree, and it's not planning to stop anytime soon.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Thursday morning released new estimates on the ultimate cost of bailing out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, cutting its worst case scenario projection to $311 billion from $363 billion.

Trustmark National Bank, Jackson, Miss., has set up a new mortgage lending shop in Birmingham, Ala., to serve its growing retail and wholesale customer base in the state.

The climb out of the real estate depression will be a long, slow one for all but one market sector: apartments, according to the annual Emerging Trends outlook report.

Both the chief executive officer and the chairman of the board of Freddie Mac are stepping down within the next few months, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said late Wednesday.

County lawyers in Texas are setting their sights on MERS, claiming Merscorp Inc. and its subsidiary, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems Inc., avoided paying millions in property recording fees.

Flagstar Bancorp, the nation's sixth largest wholesale originator, lost just $14 million in the third quarter, a sign that it may finally be headed toward the black after years of losses.

Loan originations backed by the Federal Housing Administration fell nearly 30% in fiscal 2011, and several players in the mortgage industry now believe the agency went too far in raising premiums and tightening lending standards.

Philip Wegener, president of Malibu, Calif.-based Central Mortgage who has been working in the REO business for 39 years, believes he discovered the missing link to help asset managers and brokers figure out how to price bank-owned properties correctly.

To improve proof of performance inspection reporting, Spectrum Field Services will now allow all of its customers the opportunity to use Pruvan's latest smartphone certification platform.

Freddie Mac acquired $32.3 billion of mortgages from its seller/servicers during September, up 16% on a sequential basis, and its best purchase month since February, according to new figures released by the GSE.

In response to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's request for information regarding how the government-sponsored enterprises should handle their REO asset disposition, FirstService Corp. supports the idea that large-scale REO sales should go to institutional investors who have management infrastructure.

Greenlight Financial Services, Irvine, Calif., Wednesday announced that it will enter the wholesale channel and hopes to fund its first loan some time early next year.

Lender Processing Services posted net earnings of $40.5 million in the third quarter, down 49% from a year ago as increased revenue from its technology and analytics unit couldn't compensate for higher costs in its loan transaction services unit.