Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS) announced that Paul Lee has been named CFO.
Read More »Spending on Home Construction Up in August Report
The Census Bureau put construction spending at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $915.1 billion in August, a slight increase over July's spending. On the private side, the Census estimated construction spending was at an adjusted rate of $640.5 billion, 0.7 percent above the revised July estimate of $636.1 billion. Private residential construction spending was $340.2 billion, a 1.2 percent increase from July and an 18.7 percent increase from August 2012.
Read More »Analysts: Rising Rates Contributing to Housing’s Slowdown
Capital Economics is ready to acknowledge that rising mortgage rates may provide more drag than the firm's analysts first thought.
Read More »30-Year Veteran Takes CIO Role at ValuTrac
ValuTrac Software, a software solutions provider to the appraisal management and mortgage lending industry, announced the hiring of David Yavorsky as the company's new CIO.
Read More »September Unemployment Rate at 7.2%, Job Growth Still Weak
The unemployment rate edged down to 7.2 percent in September as the economy added 148,000 jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) revealed in its monthly Employment Situation Report. The report, released weeks late as a result of the partial government shutdown, also showed revisions in job growth for July (down from 104,000 to 89,000) and August (up from 169,000 to 193,000).
Read More »Analysts: Q3 Mortgage Banking Numbers in Line with Expectations
Now that most of the nation's biggest mortgage players have put out their earnings numbers for the third quarter, investment bank FBR Capital Markets says its mortgage banking forecasts--$1.6 billion for 2013 originations followed by $1.4 billion in 2014--are still well within reach. Examining the reports, FBR says the third quarter was a case of "more of the same, with anemic loan growth ... weak mortgage banking, and lack of top-line expansion as the more notable items."
Read More »Housing Trends Settle for Cold Months, Inventory Decline Slows
According to RE/MAX's National Housing Report for September, closed transactions fell 18.5 percent month-over-month, following the trend that usually occurs as summer passes into autumn. Year-over-year, sales increased 10.7 percent, making September the 27th consecutive month in which sales rose on an annual basis. The company also reported a slowdown in the rate of inventory decline. Compared to September 2012, inventories were down 13.4 percent, bringing the month supply to 5.0 at the current sales pace.
Read More »MISMO Committee Elects New Chairman
The Residential Standards Governance Committee of the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) has elected Randy Gilster as its chairman.
Read More »Collateral Analytics Appoints SVP for Research and Development
Collateral Analytics, appointed James R. Follain, Ph.D. as its SVP of research and development. Dr. Follain is an economist with over 35 years' experience in the analysis of housing and mortgage markets, much of which involved the measurement and management of the risks associated with lending and investing as well as public policies.
Read More »Despite Mortgage Concerns, Hispanics Likely to Provide Most Demand
Despite a decline in homeownership rates since the recession, Hispanics are even more likely to view homeownership favorably than the general population, according to Fannie Mae. The downside is that Hispanics are also more likely to anticipate difficulties in obtaining mortgage loans. Forty percent of homeowners in the overall population expressed concern about their ability to obtain a mortgage loan, but among the Hispanic population, 63 percent have concerns.
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