Real estate

Amid concerns about the added complexity of the TILA-RESPA integrated disclosures and growing demand for purchase loans, Flagstar Bancorp plans to reduce its over-reliance on third-party originations by expanding its retail mortgage business.

Purchases of new homes surged in December to the highest level in 10 months, closing out the best year for housing since 2007.

D.R. Horton is expanding its entry-level Express Homes brand amid first-time buyers' growing demand for both homes and mortgages.

D.R. Horton, the largest U.S. homebuilder, reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates as sales increased.

U.S. home prices rose 5.5% in November on a yearly basis, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Purchases of previously owned homes rose more than projected in December, helped in part by warmer weather and wrapping up the best year since 2006.

Home prices rose 8.8% in December on a year-over-year basis, as the dearth of available homes forced prices up, according to Redfin.

It took an average of 49 days to close a residential mortgage loan in December, a week longer than it took one year prior, according to Ellie Mae. This was unchanged from November.

Default rates on various types of consumer loans were down 14 basis points in December on a year-over-year basis but were unchanged from November, according to Standard & Poor's and Experian.

Mortgage applications leapt 9% on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Jan. 15 compared to one week earlier, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

New-home construction in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in December, indicating the industry lost some momentum entering 2016.

Activist investor Carl Icahn, who's pushing American International Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Peter Hancock to shrink the insurer and boost returns, said the CEO must offer "a drastic strategic shift" at a presentation scheduled for next week. Icahn's plan includes splitting AIG into three units, one being United Guaranty Corp., a private mortgage insurer.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders was unchanged at the start of year, indicating the residential real estate market was sustaining the steady progress made in 2015.

The availability of debt and equity financing declined during the most recent quarter, according to the National Multifamily Housing Council.

For luxury-home developers and brokers in Miami and Manhattan who are already contending with slumping prices and slowing demand, the U.S. government's decision to start scrutinizing all-cash buyers was more bad news.

President Obama's administration, citing concern about the origin of funds used for all-cash purchases of luxury real estate, said it is stepping up scrutiny of transactions in New York and Miami.

Social media offers a unique opportunity to make personal connections online, but mortgage lenders should tread lightly when using this channel as a lead source for new borrower prospects.

Midtown Manhattan, once the pinnacle of U.S. office markets, is facing a jump in large, empty work spaces as new towers open and tenants spread out across the city, including outer boroughs that businesses once shunned.

Auction.com has rebranded at the corporate level to Ten-X, as the company begins to grow other segments beyond its auction-based platform.

Consumers increasingly fell behind on their payments in several loan categories in the third quarter as economic growth cooled.