Technology

Contracts to purchase previously owned homes rose for a second month in April, a sign the residential real estate market is stabilizing after a weak start to the year.

Mortgage rates fell for a fifth week, reducing borrowing costs as home-price gains slow.

Ellie Mae, the mortgage technology vendor, has hired 20-year industry veteran Harry Gardner as vice president of electronic strategies.

Retail single-family mortgage originations by banks and thrifts fell in the first quarter to the lowest point in six years while profits from their mortgage businesses dropped to 2011 levels.

Toll Brothers reported fiscal second-quarter profit that more than doubled as the company increased prices and delivered more properties.

Mortgage applications dipped slightly for the week ending May 23 compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Declines in mortgage-related revenue and trading income helped pull first-quarter earnings down 7.6% from the industry's profit a year earlier, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said.

Mortgage lenders may have managed to learn about hashtags and followers, but streaming audio and podcasts are still pretty mysterious to them.

Purchases of new homes rose in April for the first time in three months as buyers took advantage of falling mortgage rates.

ReverseVision has launched an online education platform aimed at teaching lending professionals about reverse mortgages.