Based on weekly application data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), macroeconomics firm Capital Economics calculated a 0.3 percent increase in mortgage applications last month. The meager uptick compares to a 10.1 percent surge in October.
Read More »Senate Confirms HUD Deputy Secretary Nominee
The United States Senate voted Tuesday to confirm the nomination of former Treasury assistant secretary Nani Coloretti to her new post as deputy secretary of HUD. Coloretti's confirmation comes months after the Senate confirmed Julian Castro as HUD secretary.
Read More »Bay State Home Sales See First Annual Increase in Months
Single-family home sales in the state totaled 4,404 in October, marking a 1.4 percent increase over October 2013's total of 4,345, the Boston-based Warren Group reported recently. It was the first annual increase since June.
Read More »Construction Spending Up 1.1% in October
In a report on Tuesday, the Commerce Department estimated construction spending throughout the month at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $971 billion, an increase of 1.1 percent over September's revised estimate of $960.3 billion. A large share of October's increase came in spending on residential projects.
Read More »StoneHill Group Recruits Business Development Manager
The StoneHill Group, a mortgage solutions firm headquartered in Atlanta, recently named mortgage industry veteran Patricia Hamilton as business development manager.
Read More »Forecast: Millennials to Take Housing Reins in 2015
In his 2015 outlook, Zillow's chief economist, Dr. Stan Humphries, predicts millennials will take on a much greater presence in the housing market, overtaking Generation X as the largest group of homebuyers.
Read More »Nine States See New Home Price Peaks in October
Real estate information firm CoreLogic reported a 0.5 percent monthly uptick and a 6.1 percent annual gain in its October Home Price Index (HPI). As of October, 27 states and the District of Columbia were at or within 10 percent of their home price peaks, and nine had achieved new record highs.
Read More »Consumer Sentiment Continues Growth Streak
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index saw its fourth straight monthly gain last month, climbing to a reading of 88.8. The final index fell in between October's final value of 86.4 and a mid-month reading of 89.4 and was once again the highest level since July 2007.
Read More »Economist: HELOC Reset Fears Overblown
As the mortgage market prepares for bubble-vintage home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) to come out of their draw period, multiple firms have issued warnings about the imminent wave of new HELOC problems. In a new blog post, however, CoreLogic deputy chief economist Sam Khater says the impact from HELOC resets will be more like a ripple.
Read More »Opus CMC Names Chief Compliance Counsel
Opus Capital Markets Consultants (Opus CMC), a Wipro subsidiary specializing in mortgage due diligence, announced the appointment of John Levonick as chief compliance counsel.
Read More »