Headlines

Data Facts, Inc., a nationwide provider of mortgage lending and background screening solutions, announced its recent acquisition of Houston-based One Source Credit Reporting Agency.

A new survey released by the Wall Street Journal finds most don't expect the Federal Reserve to begin raising interest rates until mid-summer 2015 or later. In a poll of economists nationwide, the Journal found only about a third believe the Fed will start hiking up rates before June next year. That number is down from 45 percent of economists in the publication's August survey.

Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate came up slightly to 4.12 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending September 11, marking the first increase after three weeks of year-low averages. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.57 percent in Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

Pro Teck Valuation Services' own chief appraiser, Jeff Dickstein, has been appointed to serve on the Five Star Institute's National Appraisal Congress (NAC), according to a company announcement.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Builder Application Survey tumbled 9 percent month-over-month in August, according to the latest from the group. The anticipated decline follows a 2.4 percent drop in July new home sales as reported by the Commerce Department. According to initial estimates from the government, sales that month were at an adjusted annual pace of 412,000.

Morgan Stanley has agreed to pay $95 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it misled investors in securities purchases prior to the financial crisis. The plaintiffs alleged in the suit had alleged that Morgan Stanley violated U.S. securities law in a total of 29 mortgage-backed securities it packaged and sold in 2006 and 2007.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters announced Wednesday a new proposal aimed at reforming consumer reporting and credit scoring practices. Waters drafted her proposal, which is entitled "Fair Credit Reporting Improvement Act of 2014," in response to many recent cases and studies which have exposed flaws in the country's current consumer reporting system.

A new report by LendingTree finds that for the first time in a more than a year, the amount homebuyers are spending on down payments for their properties is on the rise. According to a report released Wednesday, down payment percentages for conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose a little more than 1.5 percentage points to an average of 17.28 percent from the first to the second quarter.

One of the country's top superregional banks announced a change at the top: Fifth Third Bancorp promoted regional president Michelle Van Dyke to president of Fifth Third Mortgage Company, effective immediately.

Home sales in Connecticut barely nudged up in July, marking the fifth annual increase in what has so far been a mild year for the state. According to data released this week by the Warren Group, single-family home sales in the Constitution State totaled an estimated 3,152 in July, an increase of 0.7 percent over the same month last year.