Origination

WNC, a national investor in real estate and community development initiatives, announced Anil Advani rejoined the firm as SVP of private label funds. Advani is responsible for developing and maintaining relationships with private label investors, as well as managing the closing process of WNC's private label funds.

MountainView Servicing Group, a provider of residential MSR sale and valuation advisory services, released its Enhanced Comparative SRP Analysis for secondary marketing.

Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative, a national alliance of mortgage bankers, lenders, and suppliers, announced Tuesday its members will benefit from access to Motivity Solutions' Movation technology at a discounted rate.

Residential Finance Corporation (RFC), a nationwide mortgage lender based in Columbus, Ohio, named David Stein president of its retail branch division. Stein is a seasoned mortgage industry veteran and has significant experience in real estate, labor and employment law, and civil litigation.

Refinance loan share jumped to its highest level in at least a year and a half, according to Ellie Mae's Origination Insight Report for January 2013. According to the report, refinances made up 73 percent of loans closed in January--the highest level recorded since Ellie Mae began tracking the data in August 2011. January's refinance figure is 4 percentage points higher than December's. Despite the rise in refinance share, the time it took to close a refinance loan declined in January, falling to 54 days.

Housing starts plunged 8.5 percent in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 890,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported jointly.

Orion Financial Group, Inc., a provider of mortgage assignment, lien release, and document retrieval services, announced it is now providing streamlined settlement services to investors. The new offering provides small- to medium-size investors a one-stop, efficient solution for their needs.

There are nearly 400 mandatory inclusionary housing policies designed to low-priced housing within market-rate developments.

LoanSifter, Inc., a Wisconsin-based provider of product eligibility and pricing solutions for the mortgage banking industry, announced the hiring of Sue Stewart as VP of client services. Stewart has a 30-year tracked record of successfully leading mortgage companies, serving most recently as SVP at Move, Inc.

Capital Square Management announced last week the introduction of a new venture, Capital Square Real Estate Advisors, LLC, a new investment firm for high net worth investors.