News

The executive board of directors for the National Appraisal Congress (NAC) came together this week in Washington, D.C., to discuss pressing issues facing the residential valuation and appraisal industry.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled this week that only claims of direct, intentional discrimination could be made under the Fair Housing Act, which was passed in 1968. While the Fair Housing Act does not specifically state it allows disparate claims lawsuits, courts have allowed them for years.

According to an examination of application numbers by macroeconomic research company Capital Economics, total mortgage application volume jumped 10.1 percent in October, bouncing back after four straight months of declines. The headline measure received a major boost from refinance applications, which were up 18.5 percent month-over-month to arrive at an eight-month high.

Access to mortgage credit tightened in October, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The group's Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI), a gauge of credit access based on borrower traits and underwriting trends, fell 2.5 percent last month to a reading of 113.2.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac jointly announced that David M. Applegate will be the first CEO of Common Securitization Solutions (CSS), which was created by the GSEs to operate a new secondary mortgage market infrastructure, Common Securitization Platform (CSP).

NeighborWorks' Second Annual America at Home Survey showed that student loan debt and perceived overtightness of lending has prevented or delayed homeownership despite the fact that 60 percent of American adults surveyed said owning a home was either "the most important" or a "very important" part of the American dream.

Home price growth continued in September on an annual basis, while monthly returns have stagnated, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. Including distressed sales, the company's Home Price Index (HPI) increased 5.6 percent in September compared to the year prior, bringing the index's yearly growth streak to 31 straight months.

Pershing Square Capital Management filed a voluntary notice of dismissal in the U.S. District Court for one of its lawsuits against the federal government over the sweeping of GSE profits into the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

LenderLive Network, a domestic-based, end-to-end mortgage services provider, announced the hiring of David Greif as regional account executive representing the company's Correspondent Lending division in the state of Florida.

In its annual survey of homebuyers and sellers, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that only about 33 percent of home purchases in the last year were made by first-time buyers, down from 38 percent in last year's survey and the long-term average of 40 percent.