Headlines

Going against recent assertions that student debt may not prove as big a hindrance to the housing market as feared, a new report from researchers at John Burns Real Estate Consulting argues that student loans could cost the industry tens of billions of dollars this year alone.

According to transaction data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales last month were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million, a decrease of 1.8 percent from July's sales pace of 5.14 million and a drop of 5.3 percent compared to last year. The group's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, pinned August's slower pace to a decline in all-cash purchases made by investors.

As the housing market continues to mend, analysts find the young-adult sector of the market is lagging. Some feel the lack of young first-time buyers is the main component holding the housing market back. However, this may not be the case everywhere. A burgeoning young, knowledge-based workforce is contributing to housing and overall economic growth in Pittsburgh and Cleveland, according to the latest Home Value Forecast from Pro Teck Valuation Services.

Selim Zherka, a resident of Somers, New York, was arrested by federal agents on Thursday and charged with falsifying information to obtain loans totaling more than $146 million from three banks: North Fork Bank (now Capital One), Sovereign Bank (now Santander), and Signature Bank, according to an announcement from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).

Zillow's August Home Value Index, released Friday, shows that U.S. home values in August rose at a cool 0.1 percent from July. This cooling of price increases is good news for both buyers and sellers, as slow growth makes for a market in which final sales numbers are more in sync with actual property values.

Carrington Mortgage Services announced the appointment of David Grosteffon as divisional sales manager for strategic accounts at the company's wholesale lending division.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) increased 0.2 percent last month to 103.8, half the increase expected by economists. The index grew 1.1 percent in July and 0.7 percent in June. "The LEI continued to rise in August, although at a slower rate than in July," said Ataman Ozyildirim, economist at the Conference Board. "Despite concerns about investment picking up, the economy should continue expanding at a moderate pace for the remainder of the year."

Examining a sample of loans initiated in May, mortgage technology provider Ellie Mae calculated a closing rate of 61.1 percent for all loans in its August report, up from 57.7 percent in July's report. "The closing rate in August was the highest since we began tracking this data three years ago," said Jonathan Corr, president and COO of Ellie Mae. "This was further indication that lenders are working every deal and making sure leads don't slip away."

Experts gathered in Dallas earlier this week at the annual Five Star Conference and Expo to discuss the most pressing issues facing servicers—and "compliance" was the word of the day.

New York-based Mortgage Industry Advisory Corporation (MIAC) announced the offering of a new $50 million per month mortgage servicing flow portfolio. The portfolio, which is made up of more than two-thirds Ginnie Mae and nearly one-third Fannie Mae loans, is being offered by a "well capitalized mortgage company that originates nationally," said MIAC, which is acting as the seller's exclusive representative on the offering. The seller will provide full representations and warranties for the loans included.