Headlines

After half a year of failed predictions and slow starts, the U.S. economy actually appears to be closing in on normal, at least according to Freddie Mac. Freddie's latest Economic and Housing Market Outlook shows that the agency expects to see the U.S. housing market driven once again by fundamentals—jobs, household formations, and affordability—rather than economic upheaval.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported a 2.7 percent decrease in mortgage application volume from a week earlier in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 8. Both the Refinance Index and the Purchase Index both fell to their lowest levels in months, dropping 4 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association (CMLA) has named Erik Anderson as its new president.

California's Platinum Data Solutions and Pennsylvania's Global DMS have come together to create a faster and easier way for valuation professionals to access appraisal quality and compliance analytics.

While policymakers have made some headway in pushing through different GSE reform packages, a new report from Kroll Bond Rating Agency contends any reform legislation is unlikely to pass through Congress before the 2016 general election at the earliest.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has targeted an Atlanta-based online lender to pay up for its role in an alleged bait and switch scheme. AmeriSave, its affiliate, Novo Appraisal Management Companies, and the CEO/owner of both companies, Patrick Markert, were penalized for misleading consumers by advertising fraudulent low rates and then failing to honor those rates once the consumers were locked in.

In the first step of what is planned to be a multi-year effort, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has put out a request for industry input on the development of a common mortgage-backed security (MBS) designed to be issued and guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

In California, LRES announced the promotion of accounting veteran Susheel Mantha to the role of CFO.

With the second-quarter earnings season mostly done, financial services firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) reports that mortgage bankers tracked in its coverage saw a 22 percent increase in volumes from the first quarter to the second. "We view the mortgage results for the banks that have already reported 2Q earnings as largely in line with expectations," KBW commented.

Black Knight Financial Services recently announced the integration of two of its core technologies, Closing Insight and Empower, in order to make the mortgage loan closing process smoother for lenders.