Origination

Bank of Commerce Mortgage (BOCM) announced the addition of Jay Kunkle to the company's Newport Beach branch. Kunkle will serve as a senior mortgage advisor for the branch. A Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist, he brings more than 20 years of mortgage lending experience to BOCM.

Mortgage activity was down last week, dropping 11 percent from the previous week and by almost one-third from the same week last year.

Home prices in September posted their biggest yearly gain in more than 6 years, but prices also displayed a typical seasonal slowdown and fell month-over-month, according to the Home Price Index (HPI) report from CoreLogic. Including distressed sales, the report showed home prices moved higher by 5 percent from September 2011, the seventh straight month of yearly increases and the biggest annual gain since July 2006. From August to September, prices decreased by 0.3 percent.

A turnaround in housing helped drive Freddie Mac to a $2.9 billion profit in the third quarter, the GSE reported.

Fewer people are being kept out of the housing market because of the economic climate, according to a national survey by FindLaw.com.

Arizona-based Integra Group Real Estate LLC is rolling out a new program for investors seeking to tap into the U.S. housing market. Providing "education, guidance, and opportunities" for investing in the current real estate environment, the company has announced the launch of the Integra Group Multi-Family Home Investors Initiative.

Equifax Inc. announced Kent E. Mast will be retiring as corporate VP and chief legal officer after a successful 45-year career. Stepping up to fill Mast's role is John J. Kelley III.

The FDIC added two more banks to this year's failed bank list Friday, bringing the total year-to-date to 49. The two shuttered banks were located in Illinois and Florida, each marking the eighth bank in their state to close this year.

Don Abbey, the famed founder of eponymous commercial real estate company The Abbey Co., has put another mega property on the market. Recently listing his massive estate in Montana, Abbey has now put his equally expansive California abode up for sale at $78.8 million.

California-based Prospect Mortgage is preparing to welcome a new financial leader. The lender recently announced 30-year industry veteran Sandra E. Bell as the Prospect's new chief financial officer (CFO).