Despite an uptick between the second and third quarters, home sales in the state of Pennsylvania failed once again to hit year-ago levels, according to data released Monday by the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (PAR).
Read More »UWM Announces Enhancements to Broker Tools
In Troy, Michigan, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced the opening of its new Marketing Center, a free benefit for its partners that allows brokers and correspondents to create customized, professionally developed marketing flyers.
Read More »HUD OIG Recoups $1B
The Office of Inspector General for HUD announced that civil investigations of some of the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) largest lenders have resulted in significant settlements in the last year. "These settlements are the latest step in a continuing effort to bring to light significant problems that we have identified in the loan underwriting practices of a number of large FHA-approved lenders, which have or will provide a meaningful financial boost to the FHA insurance fund," HUD OIG David A. Montoya said.
Read More »ClosingCorp Announces Appointment of New CTO
ClosingCorp, a provider of residential real estate closing cost data and technology for mortgage lenders, title and settlement companies, and real estate professionals, has a new chief technology officer (CTO), tapping industry veteran Kamel Boulos for the position.
Read More »Consumer Spending Measure Improves in September
Deloitte released Thursday the results of its latest monthly Consumer Spending Index, which climbed in September to 4.21 from an August reading of 4.11. The index tracks consumer cash flow through a handful of measures—tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and new home prices—as an indicator of future consumer spending.
Read More »Wells Fargo Settles Over Maternity Discrimination Claims
HUD announced a $5 million settlement with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage to resolve allegations that Wells Fargo discriminated against women who were either pregnant or on maternity leave. Among other accusations, the six complaints allege that Wells Fargo made loans unavailable to families based on familial status and forced women to give up their maternity leave and return to work before their loans closed.
Read More »FHFA Announces Pick for Chief of Staff
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the appointment of Janell Byrd-Chichester as the organization's new chief of staff.
Read More »Mortgage Rates Return to Summer Lows
In its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, Freddie Mac reported the average 30-year fixed interest rate came to 4.12 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending October 9, down from 4.19 percent. A year ago, the average 30-year fixed interest rate was 4.23 percent, the same as it was when rates jumped up in mid-September.
Read More »Rhode Island Home Sales Plummet in August
Single-family home sales fell annually in Rhode Island for the fifth month this year in August, dropping by double digits even as selling prices came down, the Warren Group reported. Warren Group CEO Timothy M. Warren Jr. called the decline "discouraging," especially after the market gained some steam in July.
Read More »California Forecast: Rising Sales, Flattening Prices
In its 2015 housing market forecast, the California Association of Realtors (CAR) calls for existing-home sales in the state to reach 402,500 next year, an increase of 5.8 percent from 2014's projected sales figure of 380,500. Even with the increase, home sales are still expected to fall short of last year's total of 414,300, demonstrating how much California's market has slowed down in 2014.
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