Wednesday’s update spells out how lenders are to provide mortgage applicants with homeownership lists of HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, homeownership counseling lists, the use of a consumer’s mailing address to provide the list, and high-cost mortgage counseling qualifications.
Read More »Data Showing Desired Outcomes Must Precede Monetary Policy Liftoff Decision, Atlanta Fed CEO Says
Lockhart said before a monetary policy liftoff decision is made, he would like to see data that the desired outcomes are being achieved – but he said support for a monetary policy liftoff decision will be a judgment call. But in the big overall economic picture, he said, strength in one aspect of the economy may offset ambiguity in another area.
Read More »Renters Aren’t Converting into Homebuyers, Report Shows
But these declining numbers are nothing new. The numbers of renters making the transition to homeownership has dropped consistently over the past couple of years, and rates have remained below 17 percent mark (the historical average) since 2008.
Read More »Goldman Sachs, Citigroup Report Strong First Quarters
Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein said he was pleased with the fact that “all of our major businesses contributed” to the strong first quarter. “Given more normalized markets and higher levels of client activity, we remain encouraged about the prospects for continued growth,” he said.
Read More »Bank of America Reports Q1 Net Income of $3.4 Billion, In Part Due to Rise in Originations
The decline can be attributed to a reduction of $757 in equity investment income and $211 million related to additional market-related adjustments on the bank's debt securities portfolio, due to long-term lower interest rates' impact.
Read More »Housing Market ‘Steady to Improving’ Across Most Fed Districts in Beige Book
Most Fed districts reported improvement in residential real estate, namely Cleveland, Richmond, Chicago, Minneapolis, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. The remaining districts reported steady residential real estate activity, except for New York, which said conditions were softening. Construction activity slowed in Philadelphia, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Dallas due to harsh winter weather conditions.
Read More »House Votes to Amend Part of Dodd-Frank to Make Manufactured Home Mortgages Affordable
The first measure, which passed 263-162, would alter the meaning of “high cost" mortgages for manufactured housing by exempting mortgages from the classification if the transaction is less than $75,000, the annual percentage rate is 10 percent or lower, and if the mortgage points and fees don’t exceed $3,000.
Read More »Chase, Wells Fargo Post Solid Q1 Revenues
Wells Fargo's noninterest income for Q1, $10.3 billion, was an increase of $29 million from the previous quarter. The bank received higher income from trading activities, debt security gains, mortgage origination gains, and insurance, which were offset by lower other income, such as from mortgage servicing (which were $108 million for Q1, compared to $235 million for the previous quarter).
Read More »Many Borrowers Face Higher Payments When HELOCs Reset
In raw dollars and cents, take this example from Bankrate: A $30,000 balance at 3.25 percent interest (the current prime rate) equals a minimum payment of $81.25. But after the 10-year mark, that balance resets to a 20-year repayment schedule and the minimum due each month bloats to $170.16.
Read More »Fannie Mae Launches Program to Assist First-Time Buyers With Closing Costs
Fannie Mae has announced the launch of the HomePath Ready Buyer program, through which qualifying homebuyers can receive up to 3 percent of the home's purchase price in closing cost assistance toward the purchase of a HomePath property.
Read More »