Mortgages

The Fed’s decision to lower rates amid a pandemic proved serendipitous for home lenders who benefited from a refinance boom last year, but they may need to make adjustments in the coming months.

The recent stimulus law’s relief for renters and extension of the federal eviction ban were meant to ward off a housing crisis. But owners of 1- to 4-unit dwellings still face mounting mortgage and property tax debts, and delinquencies could start rising soon — followed by foreclosures.

Led by El Dorado County, the Sacramento region became one of California's notable housing and growth hot spots in the final months of 2020, new data show.

While the agreement with China Oceanwide still remains in place, there was no formal extension of the Dec. 31 deadline.

With limited plan removals due to the holidays, mortgages in coronavirus-related forbearance rose by 15,000, according to Black Knight.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, San Antonio's housing market is booming.

Mortgage rates rose a basis point this week, ending the year near record lows, according to Freddie Mac.

From the CARES Act’s effects to the spate of nonbanks going public, these developments stand to shape how the playing field looks in 2021.

Mortgage industry hiring and new job appointments for the week ending Dec. 31.

The river of red ink will likely begin to flow in the new year, due not only to the pandemic itself, but also to longer-term secular trends that have been accelerated by COVID-induced changes in the economy, says DebtX President and CEO Kingsley Greenland.

A gauge of pending home sales fell for the third consecutive month in November, suggesting higher prices and limited inventory are slowing momentum in the housing market despite record-low borrowing costs.

A real estate firm focused on gentrifying neighborhoods is showing cracks after a group of its apartment buildings in New York’s Upper West Side and Harlem filed for bankruptcy.

Remote online notarization helped originators close loans amid social distancing measures, but complex local laws remain a barrier to its widespread use.

The switch to Thomas Cangemi from longtime CEO Joseph Ficalora could foreshadow a push to curtail the company’s reliance on multifamily lending and the pursuit of a bank acquisition that lowers funding costs.

The former property-assessed clean energy program administrator plans to sell off assets via Chapter 11, but PACE securitizations through its bankruptcy-remote trusts will continue to be backed by homeowner ad valorem assessments.

The agency's request for input will shape how mortgages underwritten by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac handle appraisals and curb risk.

This year, the mortgage industry demonstrated an unlikely agility and willingness to learn, but 2020 also reinforced where the industry is weak and needs to adapt — quickly — to be able to compete, Capacity Senior Adviser John Heck says.

A measure of home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in October by the most since 2014 as ultra-low mortgage rates and increased buyer appetite for more space depleted housing inventory.

Industry watchers make their wildest guesses (more or less) about developments in real estate finance that could rock the industry in the upcoming months.

Despite intensified demand and plummeting inventory, consumer home purchasing power made gains behind falling interest rates in October, according to First American.