Mortgages

The recent rise in refinance applications has prompted economists at the Mortgage Bankers Association to boost their origination forecast for the second half of this year by over $90 billion.

In the rollercoaster world where REO and foreclosure volumes change on a monthly basis, title companies, lenders and servicers are trying to close as many real estate transactions as possible despite inventory levels being lower than previous years.

Undisclosed fines and liens on a property are a nightmare for lenders and homeowners. Now add on to that the fact these liens are not covered under the traditional ALTA title insurance policy.This is the case with municipal code violations, which could then come up to bite property purchasers and their mortgage lien holders. These are typically not recorded on government property records.

Our alliance members recognize the importance of improving the customer experience in mortgage servicing and they have been working hard to achieve that goal. An ongoing demonstration of the effort on reaching customers directly is the large number of outreach events that Hope Now has helped organize around the country since the crisis hit.

The North Shore Bank of Wisconsin has introduced a construction loan that promises “lucrative financial rewards” to those who choose to build an energy-efficient home using the new financing option.

The Appraisal Institute named a Texas appraiser as its new elected vice president for 2012 as part of its annual changing of the guard.

A report from Re/Max covering 53 different markets found home sales dipped nearly 13% between June and July, but increased by over 13% when compared with July 2010. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Mortgage quality control technology and services provider Aklero Risk Analytics has named an executive from ISGN as chief financial officer.

Potential homebuyers are "spooked" by the stock market tumbling, the deficit mess in Washington and economic news, according to a Moody's Analytics economist.

The New York Stock Exchange has notified The PMI Group Inc., Walnut Creek, Calif., that it is not in compliance with the exchange's continued listing standard and faces suspension and delisting.

I have come to view my marketing clients as my "canaries in the coal mine" on the business climate. Having a marketing related business in every city where we have clients (i.e. Boston to Portland), gives me a great pulse on the market all across the U.S. I can evaluate their real financial condition since we see their numbers and forecast their results through the end of the year for cash flow and tax planning.

Homebuyers are double dipping on available federal- and state-run mortgage finance programs, in some cases buying a home with a mortgage that requires virtually no down payment.

The president of San Diego-based valuation data and technology provider DataQuick is defending his profession against what he says are misconceptions about the fundamentals of valuations and the current regulations of the industry.

Existing home sales in Illinois in July were up 18% over the previous year but median prices were down by 4%, the Illinois Association of Realtors reported. The data includes both single-family properties and condominiums.

A commercial real estate investment advisor in Orlando calls Standard & Poor's downgrade of the United States sovereign credit rating "good news for commercial real estate" both nationally and locally.

The large amount of maturing mortgage debt is an opportunity for institutional investors to acquire at good prices commercial real estate from sellers who are overleveraged, a report from a unit of BNY Mellon Asset Management declares.

Florida existing home sales increased 12% in July over the previous year, while existing condominium sales also increased 12%, according to the Florida Realtors. There were 15,517 single-family homes sold last month, up from 13,874 the prior year.

Sales of single-family existing home sales fell 4% in July after a 1% increase in June, but condominium sales were unchanged month over month, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Dow had fallen more than 400 points and long-term rate-indicative 10-year Treasury yield had plunged to a record low below 2% at one point Thursday as the average weekly 30-year mortgage rate tracked by Freddie Mac hit a low not seen in over 50 years.

The biggest short- and long-term challenges facing commercial real estate going forward are the large amount of debt maturing between now and 2015, said an executive with Deloitte LLP.