Origination

Consistent with most industry indices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported continued gains in its most recent House Price Index. On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased 0.6 percent from October to November. This rate matches the previous month's revised index, which was revised from a 0.5 percent increase to a 0.6 percent increase. National home prices have increased 5.6 percent over the 12-month period ending in November, according to FHFA. The current index is 15.2 percent lower than the national peak.

In Maryland, technology development firm IndiSoft has been recognized by SmartCEO magazine for its quick growth and contributions to the Baltimore community in the last three years. IndiSoft was listed among 49 other companies in the January "Future 50" issue of Baltimore SmartCEO.

DocMagic, Inc., a provider of fully-compliant loan document preparation and delivery solutions, announced that its new multi-million dollar technology center is operational.

Applications for purchase loans reached their highest level since 2010 last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. The group's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 18 showed overall application volume was up a seasonally adjusted 7 percent from the prior week. On an unadjusted basis, application volume was up about 8 percent. The rise in applications comes despite a slight rise in interest rates.

In sunny California, ICON Residential Lenders made two hiring announcements. Dennis Kuncas and Matt Modugno joined the company as SVP and area sales manager, respectively.

San Diego-based DataQuick, a technology provider for the lending industry, announced it has adapted its products to meet new industry standards. The company's MindBox decisioning program has assisted lenders in obtaining qualification information for more than 20 years. With the release of the new industry standards from the CFPB, DataQuick is adjusting the product to ensure compliance.

The Mortgage Partnership Finance (MPF) Program, originated in 1997 to assist small financial institutions in selling fixed-rate conforming loans to the secondary market, has experienced rapid growth over the last year. Both the number of financial institutions participating in the program and the number of loans funded through the program grew in 2012, according to a release.

U.S. Senator and Senate Banking Committee member Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) warned federal regulators Tuesday to stick to simplified, synchronized lending rules in order to avoid driving out private capital. Corker specifically pointed to the qualified residential mortgage (QRM) rule, which includes an exemption on risk retention for loans sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA)--an exemption Corker believes may drive lenders away from the private market.

In a joint announcement, KB Home and Nationstar Mortgage LLC announced an agreement to form Home Community Mortgage, LLC, a limited liability company offering a range of mortgage banking services to KB Home customers. As KB Home's preferred lender, Nationstar has served homebuyers on-site in the builder's communities across the country. According to the announcement, Nationstar will remain KB Home's preferred choice until Home Community Mortgage's launch, which is scheduled for the latter half of 2013.

U.S. home values in 2012 rose 5.9 percent over 2011, according to data in Zillow's latest Home Value Index (HVI).