There is a demographic shift happening within the mortgage profession. In an industry that is so male and white-focused, women and minorities are often passed over for well-deserved positions and promotions, but this idea is being reshaped and redefined right before our eyes. This select print feature appears in the October 2015 edition of MReport magazine, available now.

VRM University, the training division of VRM Mortgage Services that provides nationwide training, certification, and continuing education for the mortgage and real estate industries, recently announced the launch of their new Diversity & Inclusion Self-Assessment Tool Kit.

Homeownership is on the minds of most Americans and despite rising prices, they still believe that purchasing a home is a good financial decision.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced the finalization of a rule that will improve information about consumers’ access to residential mortgage credit by updating reporting requirements of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

Citigroup Inc., experienced a substantially profitable third quarter and U.S. Bancorp's earnings marginally increased, while Goldman Sachs fell short of expectations.

Home sales in the fall season have cooled down 8.6 percent in September compared to August, but remain 6.8 percent above last years' levels.

As interest rates continue to lower and home values rise, mortgage fraud application risk has fallen 8.9 percent from the second quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015, according to CoreLogic's October 2015 Mortgage Fraud Report. The Mortgage Application Fraud Risk Index showed that approximately 12,814 of mortgage applications, or 0.67 percent, contained fraud in the second quarter of 2015.

As the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule came and went, mortgage applications experienced some drastic ups and downs in the week prior to regulation's implementation date and the week after.

The availability of mortgage credit to borrowers declined slightly in the second quarter of 2015, despite impactful federal efforts to expand the credit box.

Refinances appear to be cooling off after volume levels decreased in August, while mortgage rates rose for three consecutive months through July, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's August 2015 Refinance Report.