Daily Dose

The residential mortgage loan risk retention rule, known as the "qualified residential mortgage" (QRM) rule, was approved on Wednesday by the U.S. Federal Reserve Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The agencies are the last of the six groups charged with putting together the finalized rule.

New York's top banking supervisor once again set his sights on Ocwen Financial Corp. this week, saying the non-bank servicer sent thousands of foreclosure warnings to borrowers months after it was too late to save their homes.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Thursday that U.S. house prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent month-over-month in August. On a year-over-year basis, FHFA's price index was up 4.8 percent, putting it roughly in line with its August 2005 level and 5.8 percent below its peak in April 2007.

RealtyTrac reported that 8.1 million U.S. homeowners, representing 15 percent of all mortgages in the country, were seriously underwater on their mortgage in Q3, the lowest percentage of underwater mortgages nationwide since RealtyTrac began tracking the data in Q1 2012.

Real estate data firm Zillow reported a 6.5 percent year-over-year gain in its Home Value Index for September, bringing the index up to $176,500. Zillow's chief economist, Dr. Stan Humphries, said the latest report comes as a relief compared to last year, when the market was experiencing unsustainable price growth that went well into the double digits in some areas.

HUD Secretary Julian Castro unveiled in a speech the points of the agency's "Blueprint for Access" meant to ease the risk of lending while expanding credit. "It's in our entire nation's interest to help more responsible Americans succeed in the housing market by expanding access to credit," Castro said.

In its announcement, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) said it established the task force as a response to the explosive growth of non-bank servicers like Ocwen Financial and Nationstar Mortgage, both of which have moved to snap up servicing rights from depository firms and climb the ranks of the nation's biggest outfits.

A new mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio has hit the market, this one valued at more than $1 billion in unpaid principal balance. According to an announcement from MountainView Servicing Group, which is advising on the sale, the latest offering contains mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae, 97 percent of which are fixed-rate and all of which are first-lien loans.

According to a report released this week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), total refinance volumes at Fannie and Freddie came to 131,075 in August, up more than 11,000 from July as mortgage rates slipped slightly to an average 4.12 percent. While overall refinancing activity increased, however, the number of refinances completed through HARP fell again to a combined 14,066—accounting for about 11 percent of total volume compared to July's 13 percent.

MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows mortgage application volumes jumped 11.6 percent for the week ending October 17. The surge in the headline index stemmed from a substantial jump in the refinance application component, which was up 23 percent week-over-week to hit its highest level since November 2013.