Valuation Partners, a Texas-based national appraisal management firm, announced it has successfully integrated with LendingQB's loan origination system, creating a seamless, more streamlined appraisal report process.

Together, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reported 389,284 refinances throughout the third quarter, according to their conservator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The figure compares to a total of 344,507 in the second quarter. As refinance volumes rose, the share of refinances completed through the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) fell further.

Freddie Mac released last week its latest Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi), revealing a 0.5 percent uptick in September to a reading of 74.4 after months of slight declines. The most recent improvement puts the index a few points short of the lower threshold for a market considered to be in "stable" territory.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that sales of new single-family houses were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 in October, up 0.7 percent from September's revised rate of 455,000 and 1.8 percent over last year's pace of 450,000 sales.

Rushmore's newest office, which opened in San Juan on November 3, is the third location for the firm, which services performing, re-performing, and non-performing loans. It is also the first branch to open outside of the continental United States.

Santa Ana, California's First American Financial Corporation recently announced the appointment of a new SVP for enterprise data strategy, naming Dianna Serio to the position. Serio has more than 25 years of experience in real estate information, focusing primarily on data product development, title plant management, data acquisition, manufacturing, and delivery options.

Altisource Portfolio Solutions has added to its online offerings with the recent acquisition of self-directed real estate marketplace Owners.com, the company announced this week. According to the announcement, Altisource purchased the company for $20 million at closing, with up to an additional $7 million in potential consideration based on revenue earned in the next two years.

MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, a closely watched measure of application volumes, dropped 4.3 percent for the week ending November 21, the group said Wednesday. The decline followed a 4.9 percent bump during the previous week, which included an adjustment for Veterans Day.

According to Freddie Mac's monthly volume summary, released Tuesday, the mortgage giant's total loan portfolio grew last month at an annualized rate of 2.5 percent, the highest growth rate since March 2013.

The Conference Board's index of consumer confidence declined to 88.7 in the group's November reading, according to a report. The drop follows a bump of more than five points in October to a post-recession high of 94.5 (revised to 94.1 in the latest measure).