Housing markets

Remodeling activity stepped up in recent years as homeowners stayed put for nearly twice as long as before the housing bubble burst, but several forecasts point to a potential slowdown on the horizon, which is a welcome sign for the mortgage business.

Military service members are a crucial market segment for lenders because they are younger than other demographics and a steady group of borrowers unfazed by independent economic concerns.

Freddie Mac increased its origination forecast for 2019 by nearly 4% from last month as lower interest rates will result in more borrowers refinancing than previously expected.

Contract signings to purchase previously owned homes rebounded in March by more than forecast for the second gain in three months, adding to signs of stabilization in the housing market.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in February at the slowest pace since 2012, decelerating for an 11th straight month, as sellers continue to make properties more affordable to lure buyers.

With strong housing demand continuing in Central Texas, new home starts increased almost 7% in the first quarter compared to the first three months of last year, according to new industry data.

Southern California home prices dropped $500 in March from the year before, the first annual price drop in the region in seven years, real estate data firm CoreLogic reported.

Growing wages combined with flat mortgage rates handed homebuyers' increased affordability with a 2.4% boost in purchasing power for February, according to First American Financial Corp.

A drop in property sales in San Francisco suggests a housing slowdown despite a booming economy, according to city Assessor-Recorder Carmen Chu.

Along a stretch of South Los Angeles near the Expo light rail line, investment dollars are pouring in.

Homeownership tenure took a dip at the start of the year as the housing market cooled off. And while improved affordability helps, consumers are still staying put for nearly twice as long as they were before the crisis.

Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver have seen the biggest net inflow of millennials in 12 years, a key reason demand for housing is expected to remain strong, despite spiraling costs, according to Royal Bank of Canada.

Silverton Mortgage, an affiliate of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, has joined a small but growing group of lenders in offering a newer form of government-sponsored enterprise financing for manufactured homes.

Title underwriters and other vendors reported year-over-year declines in business activity (although some reported improved profitability), but lower interest rates made them optimistic about their prospects going forward.

Property valuation notices are going out, and most homeowners in metro Denver should see tamer increases than the big shocking ones that hit them this time in 2017, according to county assessors.

No state is worse than Nevada when it comes to the availability of affordable homes for extremely low-income people, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, which advocates for affordable housing.

Home sales across Connecticut in March provided a weak lead-in to the state's spring home buying season with sales and prices both registering year-over-year declines.

Mortgage rates are low, the job market is on fire and, in a mysterious disconnect, Palm Beach County, Fla., home sales lagged again in March.

Customer-facing mortgage technology is not that big of a deal for Top Producers based in the South, even as a growing number of lenders are partnering with fintech firms to create a better user experience.

The number of March home sales in Ohio slumped from year-ago levels as prices continued to grow.