According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Economic and Mortgage Finance commentary for May 2015 written by Joel Kan, associate VP, industry survey and forecasts at MBA, economic growth struggled its way through the first quarter.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey found that mortgage applications are down 1.5 percent from last week. Freddie Mac also released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), revealing that the average fixed mortgage rates moved just slightly lower following three consecutive weeks of increases.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirmed in speech held today at the Providence Chamber of Commerce in Providence, Rhode Island, that interest rates will likely increase later this year due to the gradual improvement in the economy.

HUD recently released a notice requesting public comment on proposed revisions to the Addendum to Uniform Residential Loan Application, also known as the 92900-A. This is the loan certification document signed by lenders.

According to Auction.com’s, LLC Real Estate Nowcast for May, despite an unexpected drop in April, existing-home sales in May are expected to pick up and fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates of 5.03 and 5.34 million annual sales, with a goal of 5.18 million. This is a 2.9 percent increase from April and a 5.8 percent increase from a year ago.

The National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST) announced in a press release that Robert Grossinger will be the new president of the organization, effective immediately.

For the first time in two years rents grew 4 percent year-over-year, beating out home values in April, which appreciated at an annual rate of three percent, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. This intensified a “rental crisis” and signaled that home values increasing at a normal rate.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR) recent press release, existing-home sales declined in April in all major regions except for the Midwest, but remained above an annual sales pace of five million for the second straight month.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced in a news release that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will issue new operational and financial eligibility requirements for all current and potential single-family mortgage sellers and servicers.

Moody’s Investors Service released a report called, “New TILA-RESPA Rule Will Heighten Possibility of Losses in US RMBS for Rule Violations” revealing that initial challenges for lenders to implement and comply with the new TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure (TRID) rule, along with the potential high costs of lenders who do not comply, raise the risk of losses for residential mortgage-backed security (RMBS) trusts.