Technology

Orange County home prices ended 2014 up 3.8%, the smallest annual appreciation rate in three years due in part to a decline in investor speculation.

Mortgage applications were higher during the last week of January as interest rates fell to lows last seen in May 2013.

Studying borrowers' credit characteristics and tightening quality control are more important to how mortgages perform than the size of down payments.

During last year's fourth quarter, commercial and multifamily loan originations increased by 11% from the same time a year before, a new report by the Mortgage Bankers Association says.

While many of the lenders and investment firms seeking to profit from higher-risk mortgages are working to revive the business of bundling such loans into bonds, Citadel, one of the biggest players, is in no rush to see that happen.

The sale of real estate owned properties generated greater returns than short sales in December, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Home prices were up 5% in December from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic.

Home sales in Southern California's San Fernando Valley tanked in 2014, falling 7 percent from a year earlier to a record low in response to rising prices and scant inventory.

The Greenwich, Conn., Town Assessor's office booked paperwork for 40 residential real estate closings last month, with a median sale price of $1.3 million, down significantly from last January's median closing price of $2 million.

Borrowers with lower credit scores accounted for a greater share of loan volume in December 2014 than they did in December 2012, according to a sample of mortgages processed by the Ellie Mae loan origination system.