Government

Weak economic news out of Europe and comments from the Federal Reserve chairman last week conspired to keep interest rates for mortgage loans near all-time lows ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and flat ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô for another week. Real estate Web site Zillow found the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hovering at 3.81 percent, down from 3.88 percent last week. The 15-year loan averaged 3.04 percent, even while the 5-year and 1-year adjustable-rate mortgages hit 2.57 percent. The Web site found mortgage rates zigzagging in states across with the union, with those in California and New York each falling furthest at a clip of 11 basis points.

Scheduled increases for government premiums and springtime for a still-steady recovery helped drive up mortgage application volume by 4.8 percent last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday. The trade group also found mortgage applications headed up by 5 percent on a seasonally unadjusted basis. The Refinance Index ticked up 4 percent from last week, with the refinance share of mortgage activity on a decline to 71.2 percent of total application volume, down from 71.9 percent from the week before.

The same week that 12 twisters reportedly touched down in Dallas/Fort Worth, residents got wind of that Saxon Mortgage Services will close shop at two addresses and terminate nearly 700 employees. The firm ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô under new ownership at Ocwen Financial Corp. ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô notified the Texas Workforce Commission and mayors of the cities of Fort Worth and Irving that it plans to move forward with 680 layoffs. Saxon Mortgage said that it had also informed employees of their eligibility for job retraining, reemployment services, and other state services for displaced workers.

Construction spending rose 5.8 percent in February from estimates last year to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $808.9 billion. The Commerce Department found Tuesday that figures in February went above estimates from the same month last year but fell 1.1 percent below revised numbers from January. Private construction expenditures grew to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $527.3 billion, roughly 0.8 percent below revised estimates of $531.7 billion from January.

V.I.P. Mortgage is increasing its footprint in Tucson, Arizona. The company recently announced that it conducted in excess of $113 million in mortgage loans during 2011, and V.I.P. also noted that it is continuing to add home loan specialists within its Tucson branch, hiring nearly a dozen personnel last year alone. The company has merged two of its loan groups in the city, combining V.I.P. teams led by Rob Purvis and Jim Kaiser. Currently, V.I.P. has a total of 35 employees in Tucson.

Morgan Stanley may have sold its servicing sector off, but it's still going to be under a watchful eye for its previous practices. The Federal Reserve issued a consent order against Morgan Stanley Tuesday to address servicing and foreclosure issues from the company├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós former subsidiary Saxon Mortgage Services. According to the Fed, Saxon was ranked the 34th largest residential servicer and serviced a portfolio of more than 225,000 residential loans. The Fed stated Saxon initiated at least 60,313 foreclosure actions from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.

Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS) has been selected by Gateway Mortgage Group as the company's partner for property inspection and preservation needs. Targeting enhanced efficiency for the property-related management of its servicing portfolio, Gateway chose Florida-based MCS for streamlined support.

In Texas, Churchill Mortgage has added two industry professionals to bolster mortgage loan production in its Houston branch. The company recently announced that Peter Oreziak and Mike Gonzalez have been hired as home loan specialists. Prior to joining Churchill, Oreziak accrued more than nine years of experience in the mortgage business, and he has previously been active in customer service and transaction protection initiatives. Oreziak's new role for Churchill encompasses the provision of client guidance throughout the lending process from application to funding.

Lawmakers seated on the Senate Banking Committee slated five nominees to head up regulatory agencies for full-chamber votes Friday. Committee Chairman Tim Johnson led the voice vote that cleared nominees for boards responsible for the Federal Reserve System, FDIC, and Troubled Asset Relief Program, among others. The nominees set for votes include Jerome Powell and Jeremy Stein for governorships with the Fed; Jeremiah Norton, for a board role with the FDIC; Richard Berner, for directorship of the Office of Financial Research; and Christy Romero, for service as TARP├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós next special inspector general.

In Michigan, United Wholesale Mortgage is adding a new mortgage loan product to its portfolio, recently announcing that the company would begin offering loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. UWM seeks to enhance its existing government platform of Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Affairs loan programs through the extension of USDA loans. The USDA products from UWM will be comprised of 30-year fixed rate, 0 percent down mortgages with finance closing costs, competitively low rates, and financed appliances with minimal restrictions.