Origination

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) endorsed a housing finance system that phases out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but maintains a degree of federal support.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance jumped 16,000 to 357,000 for the week ending March 23, the strongest jump since mid-February, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Despite the unexpected bump, initial unemployment claims have fallen for seven of the first 12 weeks of the year, averaging just a shade over 350,000, the number most economists see as the tipping point between a strengthening and weakening jobs market.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Thursday. The report, coming just three days before the end of the first quarter, was an improvement over the first two GDP reports that showed the economy contracted by 0.1 percent then improved by 0.1 percent. The main drag on the fourth quarter economy--as it had been in the previous two fourth-quarter reports--continued to be government spending.

A drop in mortgage rates paved the way for a rise in applications last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported.

USA Wholesale Lending, a recently-created division of Fort Wayne, Indiana-based Hallmark Home Mortgage, is now operating in 20 states and has plans to expand this year.

The Independent Bankers of America (ICBA) outlined its regulatory priorities for this year at the National Convention and Techworld in Las Vegas earlier this month. The organization addressed several industry reforms and pending regulations it asserts will negatively and unfairly impact community banks. For example, ICBA suggests any financial institution with $50 billion or less in assets be exempt from Basel III. Likewise, the group argues community banks should be exempt from new lending and servicing reforms.

Residential Finance Corporation, based in Columbus, Ohio, recently announced the launch of its new Purchase Loan Quick Reaction Force, a team dedicated to ensuring mortgage loans close on time.

Home sales for Massachusetts stood at 2,246 in February, down 5 percent from 2,366 sales in February 2012. According to The Warren Group, the yearly decline was the first in the state since December 2011.

Company experts at Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC) revealed a trend showing an increase in documents recorded electronically in the nation's Recorders' Offices.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 59.7 from February's reading of 68.0 (which was revised down from 69.6). The decline wipes out most of the gains observed last month and brings the index to its second lowest reading so far this year. According to Lynn Franco, director or economic indicators at The Conference Board, the retreat in consumer confidence was driven primarily by a sharp decline in respondents' economic outlook, "although consumers were also more pessimistic in their assessment of current conditions."