Government

Total Mortgage Services, LLC announced it has been approved as a Ginnie Mae issuer for the GNMA I and II single-family mortgage-backed securities (MBS) program.

A House panel is investigating what it believes is an attempt by Federal Housing Administration (FHA) officials to cover up the full details of the agency's financial troubles regarding its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee reviewed emails between FHA and IFE Inc., the firm that conducted the agency's actuarial report. The messages reveal FHA's losses could be as high as $115 billion under the most extreme conditions.

Alliant National Title Insurance Company, a title insurance underwriter headquartered in Longmont, Colorado, announced the hiring of Tim Tillman as VP, Tallahassee and Northwest Florida agency manager.

Guardian Mortgage Company, an independent mortgage lender with offices in Texas and Michigan, is seeking help to raise relief funds for Oklahomans affected by the Moore tornado on May 19.

As National Homeownership Month kicks off, the NAHB is taking a look at the features today's young homebuyers want most.

CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI) continued to grow stronger in April, according to the company's latest HPI report.

Though Radar Logic's home price index continued to see strong gains in March, the firm says there are several signs that the trend won't last, the main one being the issue of limited supply. According to Radar Logic, the three supply constraints that will ease with rising prices are low and negative equity, seller psychology, and building activity, all of which are just temporary factors that will fade as the market continues to pick up steam. Once these "unorthodox" market forces fade, demand will also cease, the report says.

Equifax approved of DocMagic's eSign for electronic 4506-T requests. This means Equifax clients can use DocMagic's eSign for electronic signatures when submitting orders.

When it comes to real estate brand recognition, RE/MAX tops the list, according to a third-party survey completed in March. The survey, done by MMR Strategy Group between November 2012 and March 2013, asked homebuyers, sellers, and those planning to buy or sell to name a real estate brand without prompting.

A Census report released Monday put construction spending at an estimated annual rate of $860.8 billion (seasonally adjusted) in April, a 0.4 percent rise from March's revised estimate of $857.7 billion. Spending on homebuilding was at an estimated yearly rate of $308.3 billion in April, 0.2 percent down from March but 18.3 percent above April 2012. The report is consistent with the National Association of Home Builders' Housing Market Index, which dropped in April as builders contended with low credit availability and rising costs.