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I am thankful for the best of the hunters among us, the professional loan officer, who is good for the industry.

Commitments to buy new mortgages unexpectedly increased in October.

Website comments aren’t readers’ only venue for telling us how smart or dumb we are at NMN.

Despite existing home transactions being low and recent construction activity remaining below normal levels, all 42 counties tracked by DataQuick reported an increase in property values.

Regulatory pressure is expected to be as strong as ever next year when mortgage lenders and servicers will test new waters in compliance implementation, process improvements and business strategies. Market veterans find regulatory compliance risks are higher almost in every area of the business.

Shrinking origination volumes and margins have reduced lenders’ training efforts, but they are willing to invest in programs and systems that ensure compliance or payoff.

Even though home price appreciation was up 5.2% on a yearly basis, it still is a much slower pace than the 7% figure that was seen over the summer.

Refinancings comprise less than 60% of loan volume in October.

Low inventories continue to support rising home values.

Following new legislation issued by the CFPB earlier in November, the mortgage industry’s voluntary standards organization has extended the comment period beyond yearend 2013.