The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported a 1.0 percent rise in U.S. house prices between the timeframe of October to November. The previously reported 0.2 percent decrease in October was revised downward to reflect a 0.7 percent decrease, according to FHFA. Dr. Alex Villacorta of Clear Capital delivered insights on the recent findings, stating in part, "As this index is calculated using sale prices from only the conforming loan segment of the market, it has a tendency to understate both gains and losses than the broader market."
Read More »GSEs Release Strong Refinancing Statistics
During the month of November alone, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac handled approximately 36,000 mortgages versus October's 34,000 mortgages within the Home Affordable Refinance Program. President Obama's most recent proposition aims to assist more households in refinancing, and in the president's recent State of the Union address, he presented possible modifications to the Home Affordable Refinance Program stating that "responsible homeowners shouldn't have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief."
Read More »Ellie Mae Adds New Chief Information Officer
Ellie Mae, one of the top providers of automation solutions for the residential mortgage industry, announced today that David Robins would be joining their team as chief information officer (CIO). Robbins is the former chief technology officer (CTO) of NetApp, Inc.
Read More »New Risk Management Initiative for Collingwood
The Collingwood Group launched a new risk management and compliance division, established with the January 2012 acquirement of GWN Consulting, LLC (GWN), a firm specializing in Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Ginnie Mae risk management and quality control.
Read More »Financial Security On the Uptick in January
The Bankrate.com Financial Security Index made a leap in its recent release in January, from measuring a 95.8 in December to a 97.3, which is reported to be the highest score since June 2011, when the score was a reported 97.8. However, despite the seemingly positive outlook, consumers continue to feel uneasy with their financial security. Greg McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's senior financial analyst, says, "Each of the components - job security, savings, debt, net worth and overall financial security - improved over the past months."
Read More »TMS Funding Adds New Leader for Wholesale Lending
TMS Funding has added a new leader to its wholesale lending division. The company recently announced that Domenic Melillo has been hired as TMS Funding's vice president of wholesale lending.
Read More »Graystone, Appraisal Logistics Continue Partnership
Graystone Mortgage and Appraisal Logistics have announced the continuation of their standing partnership. Currently, Appraisal Logistics facilitates compliance and risk management for Graystone.
Read More »BMO and Harris Private Bank Release 2011 Study
The uptick in existing home sales to end 2011 is, obviously, a positive industry trend, and a new study released by BMO Economics and Harris Private Bank indicates that the sales pace is likely to continue upward.
Read More »New Hire for Avison Young’s Los Angeles Division
Avison Young is bolstering the leadership for its West Coast brokerage operations with the announcement that Martin McDermott will join the company's West Los Angeles office. McDermott, a commercial real estate broker, will focus on office and retail property transactions in his new role for Avison Young.
Read More »Zillow Launches New Neighborhood Platform
Zillow is making it easier for home shoppers to gain information about the homes they are interested in purchasing with the launch of its Neighborhood Advice tool. The popular website will allow potential home buyers to learn more about the neighborhood they are targeting via social media outlet, Facebook.
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