Headlines

According to CoreLogic's data, shorter-term refinances (those with lifespans of less than 30 years) accounted for nearly 40 percent of market share in 2013, a vast leap from less than 14 percent in 2006. Of that total, 15-year loan terms contributed 27.3 percentage points, more than tripling in market share since 2007. However, with rates slowly but steadily climbing, the popularity of shorter-term refinances may be short-lived.

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), one of the nation’s largest wholesale lenders, announced the launch of its new ‘Big & Easy Plus’ program designed for jumbo loans that don’t fit the Qualified Mortgage (QM) criteria.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported a one-point increase in its monthly Housing Market Index (HMI), a measure of builders’ confidence in the market for newly constructed single-family homes. March’s index was revised down to 46 from an originally reported 47. Registering 47 as of the latest release, the index has now spent three straight months below 50, the threshold between a market viewed largely as “good” and one viewed as “bad.”

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released Tuesday its Builder Application Survey for last month, with data showing a 15 percent month-over-month increase in new home purchase applications. Using application from the survey and other market assumptions, MBA estimates sales of new single-family homes in March ran at an adjusted annualized rate of 479,000 units, a decrease of 10.1 percent from February’s anticipated pace of 533,000.

The latest Survey of Consumer Expectations from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shows home price change expectations have declined slightly, falling to a projected 3.8 percent for the year ahead—the lowest level seen since October last year. The Fed found that the pattern did not hold in the West, where home prices are expected to continue at an even stronger pace.

Four California men have been indicted on federal charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and more in a case relating to the collapse of the Sonoma Valley Bank in August 2010. According to a release from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the accused allegedly "skirted the bank's internal controls and defrauded Sonoma Valley Bank by authorizing the bank to lend $9.5 million to a straw purchaser."

FNC, Inc.’s Residential Price Index (RPI) once again picked up its clip in February, rising at the highest annual rate in nearly eight years, the company reported. The national index, created to gauge price movement among “normal” home sales (exclusive of distressed properties), climbed 9.1 percent year-over-year in February, bringing it back to levels last seen at the peak of the housing market in June 2006 as non-distressed sales gain market share.

Pro Teck released its March Home Value Forecast, which ranks the hottest metro markets in the country. California claimed nine of the top 10 slots, while Florida claimed seven of the bottom 10 areas for home value appreciation. Though California has shown impressive gains in valuation recently—a trait that often makes California the subject of “new bubble” talk—Pro Teck CEO Tom O’Grady said he does not foresee trouble over the next five years.

Citigroup reported Monday profits of $3.9 billion in Q1, just barely edging out last year’s income of $3.8 billion. Gains were more impressive when put next to Q4’s earnings, which disappointed at $2.5 billion. The gain came despite a year-over-year drop in total revenues, which were down 1 percent to $20.1 billion as a result of declines in fixed income markets revenues and lower refinancing activity.

While small bankers have expressed concerns that increased regulations may hurt profit margins and make them more susceptible to buyouts, data from a new FDIC study argues otherwise. The study looked at bank trends from 1985 to 2013, and found "the recent uptick in the rate of consolidation is attributable to factors that are likely to subside once the effects of the crisis are fully behind us."