New Year's resolutions are beginning to fade and the reality of the shrinking origination market has settled in for most residential mortgage lenders.

Hovnanian Enterprises reported a wider loss for its fiscal first quarter as inclement weather extended construction times and sales demand slowed.

Wipro Gallagher Solutions announced its NetOxygen loan origination system has added an integration with mortgage technology developer Optimal Blue's product and pricing engine.

Brian Scott Cohen of Wells Fargo's Brooklyn, N.Y. office is now the provisional leader in Origination News' 2013 Top 200 loan officer survey.

Woodward Asset Capital has started a real estate brokerage brand catering specifically to property sellers, including banks and mortgage servicers unloading foreclosed homes.

Loan modifications continued their dominance as the primary method for foreclosure prevention in 2013, both through government-driven and proprietary servicer programs.

Many conversations in the loan process start with this often uttered, never welcome phrase: "I am going to need an explanation…" If you were on the receiving end of that message, how would that make you feel?

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose less than forecast in January, adding to signs housing was weakening in early 2014.

Business contingency plans kept originators and vendors humming along at almost normal during the January and February blizzards.

Wells Fargo, the nation's largest mortgage lender, plans to eliminate 700 more jobs as fewer borrowers are looking to refinance their mortgage loans.

Mortgage rates for 30-year loans climbed for a third week, increasing borrowing costs as harsh weather contributes to slowing demand for homes.

Purchases of new homes unexpectedly climbed in January to the highest level in more than five years, showing underlying strength in the industry even in the midst of unusually harsh weather.

Purchase applications reached their lowest level since 1995 last week, as the index decreased 4% from the previous week.

In the FDIC's fourth-quarter earnings report, the agency said loan buybacks fell to their lowest level in five years.

Home prices climbed at a slower pace in the year through December, indicating the market is entering a new stage that will help sustain further progress.

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Bitter weather, the qualified mortgage rule's restrictive guidelines and the lingering effects of the foreclosure crisis have put a crimp in homebuying at an inopportune time for lenders.

"We are seeing less interest from institutional buyers" of foreclosed properties, says Fannie chief executive Timothy Mayopoulos.

Mortgage servicing has long been a scale business, but rising compliance costs are now threatening the survival of smaller operations that lack efficient systems or staff expertise, industry experts say.

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