Headlines

LenderLive Network Inc., an end-to-end mortgage services provider, announced this week the appointment of Kevin Cooke Jr. as SVP of business development for the company’s Loan Servicing Division.

The total number of mortgage refinances in the United States experienced a slight increase in June, though activity for the quarter was down overall. The agency also reported a drop in refinances done through the government's Home Affordable Refinance Program, which accounted for an estimated 15.7 percent of refinances completed through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) unveiled this week its list of companies selected to participate in the agency's mortgage eClosing pilot program designed to measure the benefits of electronic mortgage closings and determine best practices.

Inc. Magazine recently published its full list of the fast-growing companies for 2014, and for the third straight year, Florida-based Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) has made the cut.

Harris Interactive surveyed 1,462 homeowners for Century 21, capturing the look at singles from 675 participants. According to the poll, 45 percent of singles between ages 25 and 50 considered homeownership "very important." Single homeowners considered homeownership an important financial investment. Century 21 President and CEO Rick Davidson described the numbers as a "shift in the home-buying population" when it came to singles.

The latest conundrum in the U.S. housing market appears to be that while homes in 94 percent of the country's top metro areas are more affordable than they've ever been, rents are so high that renters in 88 percent of those metros can't afford to save up enough for a down payment to buy a home. According to Zillow's July Real Estate Market Report, a mere 12 metros out of the top 100 in the U.S. feature an affordable market for housing and rentals.

Leading economic indicators in the United States experienced a sharp increase in July, signaling what analysts hope will be a stronger second half of 2014. The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index (LEI) rose 0.9 percent last month to 103.3, building on improvements of 0.6 percent in both May and June.

Average fixed mortgage rates drifted down again this week, sinking to their lowest level so far this year. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average fixed interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.10 percent (0.5 point) for the week ending August 21, down 2 basis points from last week's average. The previous 2014 low was 4.12 percent, first seen in late May and then again three more times throughout the summer.

Auction.com has added a heavyweight to its team, bringing on senior Internet executive Deep Nishar in an advisory role.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported on Thursday that sales of existing homes (including single-family houses, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops) hit a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 5.15 million last month, up 2.4 percent from a downwardly revised June. Looking only at single-family homes, July sales improved 2.7 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted pace of 4.45 million but still fell 4.2 percent short of last year.