Featured

Despite a slight easing in credit standards, the percentage of loan applications closed in July slipped to a three-month low, Ellie Mae reported Wednesday in its monthly Origination Insight Report. Tracking loan applications initiated 90 days prior, the company calculated an overall closing rate of 57.7 percent last month, down from 60.7 percent in June and 57.8 percent in May.

Homebuilders picked up the pace in breaking ground on new homes in July, reversing a two-month downward trend. According to figures released Tuesday by HUD and the Commerce ...

Based on data collected from April through June, Mortgage Daily reported a 24 percent quarterly increase in mortgage originations to an estimated $296 billion among all lenders as of June 30. Production still fell short 51 percent on an annual basis as consumer demand for mortgages remained anemic and credit standards stayed tight.

According to figures released Tuesday by HUD and the Commerce Department, privately owned housing starts last month were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.09 million, a 15.7 percent spike from June's upwardly revised rate of 945,000 and a 21.7 percent gain over the same month last year. While most of last month's improvement came from a surge in multifamily building, single-family starts posted a solid gain, rising 8.3 percent to 656,000.

The National Association of Home Builders reported another increase in its measure of builder sentiment, marking the third straight monthly improvement. The group’s Housing Market Index, a gauge ...

The second quarter of 2014 saw fewer all-cash home sales than the first quarter as institutional investors backed off from the market. In a quarterly report released Tuesday, RealtyTrac reported all-cash transactions made up 37.9 percent of all single-family home and condo sales in April, May, and June, down from the first quarter's three-year high of 42.0 percent but up from 35.7 percent in the year-ago quarter.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported on Monday a two-point increase in its Housing Market Index, a gauge of builder sentiment measuring current single-family new home sales, expected sales six months out, and volume of traffic from prospective homebuyers. As of August, the index measured 55, five points above the benchmark separating a market largely viewed as poor from one viewed as good.

Housing affordability took a hit in the second quarter but remains historically high, according to the Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo. However, the decline in affordability is nothing to worry about, according to NAHB.

Mortgage regulations introduced this year may have forced lenders to turn up their quality controls, but most don’t anticipate any change in their operational strategy. In a follow-up ...

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) estimates purchase applications for new homes nudged up 2 percent compared to June. The increase does not account for any typical seasonal patterns. Factoring in seasonal adjustments, MBA says July single-family new home sales ran at an annual rate of 433,000 homes, up from 386,000 in June, representing a 12.2 percent rise.