Origination

Customer satisfaction with mortgage loan originators reached a seven-year high this year with Quicken Loans earning the highest ranking for the fourth year in a row, according to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study. Five originators earned scores above the industry average. Topping the list was Quicken Loans with a score of 841 out of 1000. The remaining four lenders to outrank the industry average are BB&T (798), U.S. Bank (783), PNC Mortgage (778), and Chase (773).

In Connecticut, Total Mortgage Services, LLC announced the launch of its end-to-end mortgage processing platform: Total Mortgage Processing.

Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the average interest rate for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) climbing to 4.35 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending November 14.

Carrington Property Services announced it is taking over property management responsibilities on rental properties owned by capital management firm Gorelick Brothers Capital.

Application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders across the country suggests a climb in new home sales throughout the month of October.

In an effort to offer further support to the mortgage brokerage and correspondent lending communities, Texas-based 360 Mortgage Group announced the launch of a new aggressive pricing model on all currently offered mortgage products.

Pacific Union's CEO, Mark A. McLaughlin, was named as the recipient of the 2013 RISMedia Real Estate Leadership Award, a national award recognizing members of the real estate community who embrace innovation and blaze new trails.

Mortgage applications continued to dip last week as November got under way, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of loan application volume, fell 1.8 percent for the week ending November 8. Volume data for the week ending November 1 was revised upward to reflect a 2.8 percent drop (compared to the originally reported 7 percent decrease). On an unadjusted basis, last week's index was down 3 percent.

According to the results of Freddie Mac's latest quarterly refinance analysis, the average interest rate reduction among those who refinanced in Q3 was about 1.8 percentage points, representing a savings of about 30 percent ($3,500 over 12 months on a $200,000 loan). For borrowers who refinanced last quarter, the estimated interest savings over the next year will be about $6 billion. For those who refinanced through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), the average rate reduction in Q3 was 1.9 percent points.

When it comes to next year's regulatory obstacles, CEOs and senior executives from the mortgage industry's biggest players agree on one thing: Education will be key to keeping business going. In a panel at the 2013 Realtors Conference and Expo, high-level names from Quicken Loans, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America discussed the qualified mortgage (QM) guidelines. While the initial implementation of these rules is expected to restrict lending in the short-term, panelists agreed that business should even out.