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Prepayments, Purchase Originations Trend Up

Analyzing data as of the end of May, Black Knight Financial Services reported another gain in monthly prepayment activity—an indicator of refinancing—marking the third straight month of increases. At the same time, long-term fixed mortgage rates fell to 4.19 percent, their lowest level in more than half a year. Meanwhile, Black Knight also found that seasonal purchase origination activity has risen, with approximately 897,000 originations through April.

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NAR: HAWK Program Could Do More

In a letter sent to HUD, the National Association of Realtors reiterated its appreciation for the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA) efforts to provide reduced mortgage insurance premiums to first-time homebuyers but complained about the high mortgage insurance premiums and counseling fees that come along.

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Agencies Issue Guidance on End-of-Draw HELOCs

On Wednesday, four federal financial regulatory agencies and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) issued risk management guidelines for financial institutions that need to be aware of the challenges borrowers may face in paying off their home equity lines of credit after coming out of a recession.

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Property Fraud Risk on the Rise in Q1

Interthinx reported a 1 percent decline in its national Mortgage Fraud Risk Index from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, bringing the index's value down to 100. Three of the component indices—measuring identity fraud, occupancy fraud, and employment and income fraud—came down over the quarter. The remaining component, property valuation fraud, surged up 27 percent to an index value of 128.

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Mortgage Apps Down 0.1% in June

Macroeconomic research company Capital Economics calculated a 0.1 percent decline in total loan application volumes throughout June following a 1.8 percent uptick in May. The company's figures are based on weekly reports put out by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). So far this year, applications have risen in three months and fallen in the other three.

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Millennial Growth Favoring Suburbia, Smaller Cities

An examination of data from the U.S. Census shows millennials are gravitating more toward suburbs and smaller cities. Conversely, baby boomers are becoming more urban, according to Jed Kolko, chief economist at Trulia, who noted that the fastest growing boomer areas also tend to have relatively young populations.

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Fannie’s Book Shrinks for Sixth Straight Month

Fannie Mae's book of business shrank for the sixth straight month in May as the enterprise's mortgage portfolio continued its decline. In its monthly volume summary, Fannie revealed its total book of business contracted at a compound rate of 2.4 percent in May, slightly slower than April's negative growth rate of 2.7 percent. Year-to-date, the book has seen an average annualized negative growth rate of 2.3 percent.

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FHFA Watchdog Voices Concerns over Non-Bank Servicers

As scrutiny continues to grow in the servicing arena, the watchdog for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) says it has concerns about non-bank servicers working with GSE loans. Out of the 30 largest servicers, FHFA OIG says that non-banks held a 17 percent share of mortgage market as of the end of 2013, representing nearly $1.7 trillion. As a result, the report says these non-bank companies may have taken on more volume than they can handle.

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