Government

As part of its High Touch Servicing Program, Fannie Mae entered a deal with Bank of America in July 2011 to purchase mortgage servicing rights for about 384,000 high-risk loans the GSE guaranteed. The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General recently reviewed the deal and the program in general. The idea behind Fannie Mae's High Touch Servicing program is to purchase the servicing rights for portfolios of high-risk loans it guarantees and transfer them to specialty servicers to mitigate losses.

A decline in interest by homebuyers shaved just 0.2 percent off mortgage applications last week, with refinance activity climbing. The Mortgage Bankers Association, which unveils the figures in a weekly survey, found application volume upward-bound by 24 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis. Refinance applications started to swell last week. The Refinance Index went up 1 percent, with the refinance share of mortgage activity cresting at 81 percent of total applications, up from 80 percent last week.

Existing home sales rose 7.8 percent to 4.82 million in August the highest level since May 2010 the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single in August was $187,400, down $400 from July but up $16,200 or 9.5 percent from August 2011. Economists had expected the sale pace to be 4.55 million. The percentage gain in sales was the strongest since last August when sales improved 8.9 percent month-over-month, the strongest month-month gain of the year.

Economic growth isn't looking good for the rest of the year, according to Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group. According to the GSE's most recent Economic Outlook report, downside risks such as the European debt crisis, the fast-approaching fiscal cliff, and the recent slowdown in hiring have created a drag on the second quarter's modest economic growth. Fannie Mae is setting growth expectations to 1.8 percent, a slight increase from Q2, but under Q1's projected 2.0 percent pace.

Financial markets reacted to the Federal Reserve's announced stimulus last week, with investors dumping their money in more safe-haven Treasury debt, lowering mortgage rates accordingly. According to real estate website Zillow, which releases weekly surveys on the subject, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell from 3.38 percent to 3.34 percent last week. Rates for the 15-year home loan slid to 2.71 percent, while those for 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages inched down to 2.45 percent.

Lending specialist A10 Capital has announced the appointment of a new head of business development for the company's Tri-State market. Adding industry veteran Bruce Dashevsky, A10 is gaining a new leader for development efforts throughout Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is receiving industry support for its revisions to mortgage-related guidelines on condominium properties. Having been adamant about the need for changes to the previous standards, the Community Associations Institute (CAI) recently spoke out in support of the FHA's decisions, which the group says will create greater stability in the condo market.

The CEO of Hope Enterprise Corporation/Hope Credit Union (HOPE),Bill Bynum, has been appointed to a leadership position with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Bynum was named the vice chairman of the organization's new initiative, the Consumer Advisory Board.

In London, a home that's considered to be the largest single-family residence in the city has hit the market for a mind-blowing $484 million. According to Curbed, if the home achieves anything close to its list price, it will become the most expensive property ever sold in London.

TD Bank is capturing the consumer perspective on the American Dream of homeownership, recently releasing the results of its Home Buyer Poll. Among TD Bank's most significant findings - statistics showing that women are nearly 10 percent more likely to aspire to purchase property than men. According to TD Bank's survey, 64 percent of women believe that homeownership is "essential in defining the American Dream."