News

In its monthly National Housing Survey, Fannie Mae found consumer attitudes about the current state of the housing market ranged from flat to pessimistic in November after an October marked by more hopeful responses.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced Friday it will leave loan limits unchanged for the highest- and lowest-cost housing markets in 2015. For most high-cost housing markets, the maximum allowable amount for an FHA loan will stay at $625,000, a threshold first set at the start of this year.

Out of 475 U.S. counties analyzed in the company's latest real estate report, 98—21 percent—had a higher affordability percentage than their historical average. In addition, 58 counties—12 percent of all markets analyzed—posted a median price higher than their bubble-era peaks as values continue to rise.

Among its five largest predictions for next year, Realtor.com expects first-time buyers will return to the market in full force after years of retrenchment that has dampened the recovery of the housing market. This push will be led by millennials, now settling into their families, careers, and 30s, who are eager to buy into the American dream.

United Wholesale Mortgage's Justin Glass is moving up in the company's ranks: The Michigan-based lender promoted the veteran employee to the newly created role of chief digital officer (CDO).

Nationwide, home sales fell 1.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the brokerage said in a recent report. Sales have been down year-over-year for every quarter so far in 2014. At the same time, sales of homes priced at at least $1 million continued to lift, rising 9 percent over the past year.

Accurate Group, a title and appraisal services firm with headquarters in Ohio, announced the launch of its new e-signature closing solution designed to help lenders streamline the loan closing process and improve the borrower experience.

In a study of borrower profiles and lender behaviors, Zillow found that self-employed loan applicants receive only six loan quotes for every 10 received by non-self-employed borrowers. That's even worse than in June 2011, when the ratio was seven for every 10.

U.S. payrolls for November surpassed even the most optimistic forecasts, increasing at the highest rate in more than two years, according to a government estimate.

Months after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) first unveiled a rule establishing eligibility requirements for private insurers, the agency informed some of the nation's top firms it doesn't plan to release a finalized rule until close to the end of Q1 2015 or later, according to an announcement from U.S. Mortgage Insurers (USMI).