U.S. private mortgage insurers are expected to continue benefiting from economic growth, good house price affordability, and strong mortgage credit quality. According to Moody's Investors Service, PMIs have been positioned in a favorable housing finance environment that will allow them to reap the benefits in the industry, even if the Federal Reserve increases interest rates.

After years of post-crisis credit tightening, the availability of mortgage credit has slowly edged up from Q3 2013 to Q1 2015. The Urban Institute’s Housing Finance Policy Center reported that 4.6 percent of purchase loans that are likely to default increased to 5.7 percent, according to the Housing Credit Availability Index.

Due to increasing demand and limited supply of homes, the national median sales price of homes has reached a new record high. Additionally, existing-home sales increased in June to their highest pace in over eight years, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors released Wednesday.

Selene Finance LP, a specialty servicing business, recently announced that its Board of Directors has named Joseph A. Pensabene, residential mortgage servicing and originations veteran as the company’s next CEO, effective August 3. Along with this new position, he will also be elected to the company’s Board of Directors.

Freddie Mac recently announced the election of Lance F. Drummond as a director on the company's board. Drummond, age 60, is a senior business leader with extensive experience specializing in business transforming strategy development and execution, operations, technology, and process re-engineering.

Parkside Lending, LLC, a national wholesale and correspondent lender, recently announced that their very own Matthew Ostrander, co-founder, majority owner, chairman, and CEO of Parkside Lending was re-elected as president of Residential Real Estate at the California Mortgage Bankers Association for the 2015-2016 term.

Fitch Ratings confirmed that borrower-focused company, RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation's residential mortgage servicer ratings have been adjusted. Fitch determined that RoundPoint's U.S. residential primary servicer rating for subprime product is 'RPS3+' and the U.S. residential special servicer rating is 'RSS3+'. In addition, the rating outlooks have been revised to 'negative' from 'stable.'

While there has been a massive amount of conversation about the future roles of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the conversation often fails to address what these GSEs' government mortgage programs do for the mortgage market. Urban Institute recently released a report, identifying how programs like the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, and the Government National Mortgage Association impact the mortgage market.

Consumers that are looking to purchase a home must consider the varying mortgage rates and home prices in different states. GOBankingRates recently released a report, ranking all the states according to where it's easiest and cheapest to get a mortgage. The company reviewed all 50 states based on the local rates offered on 15-and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages in the first quarter of 2015, weighted with the average home listing price in the state.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has finally set an official effective date for the Know Before You Owe mortgage disclosure rule, also called the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosures rule, after much debate and numerous industry requests to delay the rule. The CFPB issued a final rule moving the effective date to Saturday, October 3, 2015 on Tuesday.