Secondary markets

The National Association of Realtors is urging policymakers to implement reforms meant to qualify more condominium buyers for Federal Housing Administration loans.

Former Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Co. Chairman and Chief Executive William Lacy Jr. died Sunday from respiratory failure. He was 71.

The first residential mortgage-backed securities class rated by Fitch Ratings post-crisis has paid off, the ratings agency said Monday.

In just a few years, a popular mall with high-end anchor stores and boutique retail tenants can fall into substandard property condition, leaving commercial mortgage bond investors with outsized losses on their exposure to these properties.

The mortgage application forms from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should make for stronger loans, according to an analyst at Moody's Investors Service.

Many lenders are still reluctant to give mortgages to borrowers with less-than-pristine credit, yet such loans are far more likely than prime jumbo loans to be bundled into collateral bonds. Sreeni Prabhu of Angel Oak Capital credits banks' behavior and higher interest rates for that reality.

Fitch has taken a slightly dimmer view of Midland Loan Services' ability to workout distressed commercial mortgages.

Equifax and TransUnion have stopped selling traditional credit reports, forcing lenders to buy their new, more expensive "trended" data reports that mortgage investors aren't using yet.

Mortgage rates held steady from the previous week, while still remaining near their all-time record lows, according to Freddie Mac.

"Graceful" may not be the first word that comes to mind when thinking about last year's "Know Before You Owe" disclosure implementation, but one Texas loan officer has a different perspective.