Mortgages

New home sales rose 5.7% in September thanks to strong purchase activity in the South and West, according to government figures released Wednesday morning.

Idaho is the 39th most populated state, according to recent U.S. Census data, but it is seventh for the percentage of people 50 and older taking out a reverse mortgage, according to AARP.

Top residential loan officers working for Bank of America are continuing to flee the troubled lender with its latest casualty being David Macke, who ranks first among all purchase money LOs at the bank.

Residential application volume increased 4.9% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending October 21, as purchase loans recovered from a 15-year low, according to new figures compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

US Mortgage Corp., Melville, N.Y., has hired Kelly Sabino as the director of its reverse mortgage division.

FirstMerit Corp., Akron, Ohio, reported third-quarter earnings of $31.7 million, up about 9% year over year, thanks to increased commercial lending activity and fewer problem assets.

The nearly 900,000 borrowers who already refinanced through the HARP program will not get another chance to lower their mortgage rates under the White House's newly revised initiative.

A briefing and vote that would have authorized a county attorney in Texas to sue Merscorp was delayed Tuesday.

Changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program fashioned as “penalties may work better than incentives” may soar current demand for third-party component servicing, which insiders say is shaping “the new tomorrow” of the mortgage servicing process.

As the last quarter of 2011 dawns, the 2012 business plan of a financial services firm - including mortgage lenders and servicers - should involve initiatives that address the finer points of three important themes.

It's been roughly three weeks since the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac loan limit officially changed, falling 14% to $729,750. According to some mortgage bankers and Realtors the event is the equivalent of the world ending. Or is it?

Ocwen Financial Corp., Atlanta, the nation's largest servicer of subprime loans, reported net earnings of $20.2 million in the third quarter, compared to a year ago loss of $8.8 million.

JCR Capital, Denver, will be originating, underwriting and managing a $100 million commercial real estate bridge loan fund for an unnamed institutional investor.

Attorneys for the Texas counties that encompass Houston and San Antonio are making plans to file lawsuits against Merscorp Inc.

Home prices barely moved in August on a sequential basis, but compared to a year ago values declined 3.8%, according to new figures compiled by Standard & Poor's Corp.

A complaint that consumers have regarding today's mortgage loan origination process is all the hoops they have to jump through in order to get a loan.

A revised plan to help underwater borrowers refinance into historically low interest rates is likely to boost competition among mortgage lenders and roughly double the number of people already helped by the government program, according to analysts and industry representatives.

Rep. Scott Garrett, a New Jersey Republican who chairs the House subcommittee with jurisdiction over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, plans to unveil a comprehensive bill to reform the secondary mortgage market on Thursday.

CUNA Mutual Group assured credit unions Monday that its CMG Mortgage Insurance joint venture remains financially viable and can pay claims despite the financial troubles of its joint venture partner, PMI Group, San Francisco.

Ocwen Financial Corp., late Monday disclosed that it will buy Saxon Mortgage for almost $60 million in cash, a deal that will push its subprime servicing-related contracts to almost $110 billion.