Construction of new single-family homes fell flat in March after dropping 9% in February, according to government figures released Tuesday morning.

Technology vendor Fiserv has named an Ally Financial executive as its new chief information officer.

• FHA/IRS E-Sign
• Social Media Success
• Hardware Trends
• Multifamily Origination Tech

As depositories continue to balance the need for conserving resources with expanding their presence with branch locations, some technologists believe that video conferencing would likely become a bigger trend for mortgage originators.

Bank of America wants to clear out the backlog of distressed homes in Florida by using technology to speed up short sale approvals.

JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo & Co. each reclassified more than $1 billion of mortgages as nonperforming loans at the urging of regulators in the first quarter - even though the loans are still in good shape, their executives said.

Mortgage lenders issued $29.2 billion of GNMA MBS in March, up 5% from the prior month as securitizations of jumbo and multifamily loans surged, according to new figures released by the government.

Over the past two months National Mortgage News has been reporting on a mysterious warehouse lender called eWarehouseOne. Late this week we learned that Anthony J. Simich, a division vice president for the firm - and one of few employees there who actually returns phone calls and emails - resigned.

One of the easiest ways to get my attention is to follow me on Twitter and shoot me a message. I'm @mortgagenewz.

Mortgage Technology is pleased to begin accepting nominations for the 2012 Top 50 Service Providers.

Wells Fargo & Co. reported strong earnings from its mortgage banking operation in the first quarter with residential originations more than doubling from a year ago and non-interest income climbing 42%.

JPMorgan Chase reported strong mortgage results for the first quarter, noting that residential applications rose 33% from the year ago period with chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon declaring that housing is "very close" to a bottom.

Mortgage Technology is pleased to begin accepting nominations for the 2012 Top 50 Service Providers. The nomination form is available on MT’s website. The final deadline for nominations will be 6 p.m. EDT Friday, May 4, 2012.

Mortgage rates on 30-year loans fell for the third consecutive week, easing fears that refinancings could slow dramatically.

Foreclosure filings fell in the first quarter to their lowest level since the end of 2007, according to new figures compiled by RealtyTrac, but the mortgage and housing industries shouldn't pop the champagne quite yet.

Errors in good-faith estimates can be costly for the lender because of the need to make payments when there are tolerance violations. Meanwhile, consumers are looking for the lowest costs possible when closing their loans. There is now a partnership that will bring both of those things to the table for lenders.

CoreLogic, once the largest shareholder of Ellie Mae’s stock, sold its stake in the loan origination system vendor.

If your Loss Mitigation and REO Departments interact with listing agents in the traditional fashion, then you are enabling fraud.

In shaping the future of the housing finance system, Congress needs to review the patents Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac own on many lending, servicing and secondary market processes, according to the Consumer Mortgage Coalition.

Online-only mortgage lender Quicken Loans is using the recently announced layoff of 2,000 Yahoo employees to try to boost the tech talent within its own ranks.