Origination

The price of a new single-family home soared to a record high in April as sales jumped 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected April sales to increase to 425,000 from March's originally reported 417,000. March sales were revised to 444,000. The median price of a new home, according to the Census/HUD report, soared $20,900 (8.3 percent) in April to $271,600, the highest price on record.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended May 18 dropped 23,000 to, 340,000 from the highest level since the end of March the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Pacific Union Financial, LLC appointed industry veteran Scott Conradson as EVP of mortgage servicing. With over 28 years of servicing and default management experience, Conradson will manage the company's growing servicing portfolio.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a diversified component and special mortgage servicer based in the Dallas area, cut the ribbon on its new Florida-based operation Wednesday.

According to the Redfin's Fastest Real Estate Markets Report, the number of homes under contract within two weeks of debut increased 3 percent month-over-month and 39 percent year-over-year in April.

RE/MAX announced the launch of the RE/MAX Collection, a new luxury resource website offering high-end U.S. listings.

Existing-home sales rose a 0.6 percent in April to an annual sales rate of 4.97 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Wednesday. Economists had expected a 1.6 percent increase to 5.0 million from March's original report of 4.92 million sales. The median price of an existing single-family home jumped $8,900 in the month to $192,800, the highest since August 2008.

Mortgage applications continued on a downward slope last week, with refinance volume falling to its lowest level in months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Applications Survey. The survey's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped 9.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending May 17, MBA reported. The Refinance Index decreased 12 percent week-over-week--the fastest weekly drop this year.

Mortech, headquartered in Lincoln, Nebraska, rolled out additional features to its Connect Plus borrower contact and management tool.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reminded servicers of mortgage relief options available to homeowners whose residences were affected by the tornado that ravaged areas in Oklahoma.