News

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Economic and Mortgage Finance commentary for May 2015 written by Joel Kan, associate VP, industry survey and forecasts at MBA, economic growth struggled its way through the first quarter.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey found that mortgage applications are down 1.5 percent from last week. Freddie Mac also released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), revealing that the average fixed mortgage rates moved just slightly lower following three consecutive weeks of increases.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen confirmed in speech held today at the Providence Chamber of Commerce in Providence, Rhode Island, that interest rates will likely increase later this year due to the gradual improvement in the economy.

Once the fourth-largest investment bank, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was hit hard by the subprime mortgage crisis and filed bankruptcy in 2008. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company is making headlines again by filing suit against three financial institutions—Syncora Holdings Ltd., U.S. Bancorp, and GreenPoint Mortgage Funding, Inc.—in an attempt to disallow “duplicate” claims emerging from crisis-era loans.

The Financial Regulatory Improvement Act of 2015, introduced last week by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) is aimed at providing regulatory relief for community and regional banks and credit unions, and proposes what Shelby calls "moderate" changes that would increase the transparency of the Federal Reserve.

HUD recently released a notice requesting public comment on proposed revisions to the Addendum to Uniform Residential Loan Application, also known as the 92900-A. This is the loan certification document signed by lenders.

According to Auction.com’s, LLC Real Estate Nowcast for May, despite an unexpected drop in April, existing-home sales in May are expected to pick up and fall between seasonally adjusted annual rates of 5.03 and 5.34 million annual sales, with a goal of 5.18 million. This is a 2.9 percent increase from April and a 5.8 percent increase from a year ago.

The National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST) announced in a press release that Robert Grossinger will be the new president of the organization, effective immediately.

Consumers' conservative financial behavior suggests modest economic growth for the remainder of the year, though the housing industry appears to be gaining momentum, according to Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group's May 2015 Economic Outlook released Thursday.

For the first time in two years rents grew 4 percent year-over-year, beating out home values in April, which appreciated at an annual rate of three percent, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. This intensified a “rental crisis” and signaled that home values increasing at a normal rate.