In order to remain competitive, small lenders need to integrated underwriting systems and the ability to provide market, sponsor and property history reports and information at the push of a button.

Insiders agree that certain types of solutions can serve as the best antidote to the still pervasive mortgage loan repurchase challenge.It is fueling a renewed drive to design tools that infuse all aspects of the mortgage production chain into coherent systems that are more efficient and transparent throughout the life of the loan.

Here's a fact you may not be aware of: properties governed by homeowner associations are the most rapidly growing form of housing in the U.S. today. Nearly 80% of new home construction is connected with an HOA or community association, according to the Community Associations Institute, the trade association representing HOAs.

Builders broke ground on more single-family homes in April than expected and the government revised upward its estimate of construction activity in March and February.

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Loan origination system vendor Mortgage Builder announced that it will acquire GCC Servicing Systems, the mortgage technology vendor it was spun off from in 1998.

Zillow Inc. is intensifying its efforts to create an untraditional media model that expands through strategic acquisitions.

Out of all of the SARs filed from depository institutions in 2011, possible mortgage fraud was reported on 92,028 files, compared to only 70,472 the prior year.

Residential lenders funded $462 billion of home mortgages in the first quarter, the industry’s best showing since the fourth quarter of 2010.

Real estate auction veterans Michael Fine and Alan Kravets formed Hilco Real Estate Auctions, which will provide buyers and sellers with transparent sale methodologies for conducting real estate transactions.

How effective is social media as a sales tool? According to a pair of researchers at Behavioral Sciences Research Press, the old tried and true method of person-to-person contact is much more effective.

The Federal Housing Administration will begin collecting full, electronic appraisal reports for the mortgages that it insures.

The FHFA has created a financial incentive for executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to ensure that deadlines for the Uniform Mortgage Data Program are met.

John Robbins has created mortgage production platforms from scratch before, most notably with American Residential Mortgage and American Mortgage Network. But his latest venture, he admitted, was in at least one way a little more difficult because of how the industry environment has changed in the past few years.

Freddie Mac CIO Robert Lux shares his thoughts about the GSEs’ Uniform Mortgage Data Program.

The discussion in a number of panel sessions at the Mortgage Bankers Association National Secondary Market Conference in New York on May 6 through 9, was if, let alone when, private capital would return to the industry. In the exhibit hall, much of the vendor focus was on technology and compliance which would ease that transition. Nary a wholesaler or correspondent aggregator was exhibiting.

Residential home values experienced a meager 0.2% increase in February with the average sales price coming in at $195,000, according to new figures compiled by Lender Processing Services.

Residential lenders issued $36.4 billion of Government National Mortgage Association MBS in April, a 25% spike from the prior month, according to new figures released by the agency.

Experian has agreed to sell a trio of consumer comparison shopping sites, including mortgage lead generation site LowerMyBills.com, to Ybrant Digital, Hyderabad, India, for $175 million.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has hired Chris Peterson from the University of Utah, adding a formidable critic of mortgage securitization practices and payday lending to the young agency's staff.