News

In survey findings released Tuesday, Bankrate.com reported that two-thirds of American consumers are now limiting how much they spend each month. Of those who have had to draw their purse strings tighter, 32 percent cited stagnant income as the main reason, while 29 percent said they need to save more. Sixteen percent cited worries about the economy in general.

Fewer than one-third of American consumers have a passable understanding of their financial rights, according to a new study from FICO. In a comprehensive survey of U.S. bank customers, the analytics company found only 30 percent of those quizzed about their financial rights earned a passing grade, with only 1 percent achieving an A (with 92 percent of responses correct).

Black Knight Financial Services' Data and Analytics division announced the selection of Ben Graboske to serve as chief technology officer.

Third-quarter profits improved annually at two of the nation's biggest megabanks, though mortgage banking results were mixed. For the latest completed quarter, JPMorgan Chase reported net income of $5.6 billion compared to a loss of $380 million a year ago. On the other side of the country, Wells Fargo posted profits of $5.7 billion for the quarter, up from $5.6 billion in Q3 2013 and flat from Q2 2014.

Now that the overall economy is on more solid ground, Wells Fargo economists suggest that housing may soon follow in its footsteps. While some predict that the housing market is poised for more rentals than buys for years to come, particularly among millennials, Wells Fargo suggests the contrary.

William A. Ackman, head of Pershing Square, and Bruce Berkowitz, head of Fairholme Capital, have both added to their respective stakes in the two GSEs. In the last week of September, Judge Royce Lambert threw out lawsuits filed by Fairholme and Perry Capital against the government claiming that the sweeping of GSE profits into Treasury was illegal. The judge ruled the sweeping of the profits was legal under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act.

DocMagic, Inc., a loan document preparation services provider headquartered in California, announced a partnership to make its service offerings available to users of Liquid Logics' loan origination system (LOS).

Condo prices are rising faster than single-family home prices, according to the Trulia Price Monitor, which observes asking prices on a monthly basis. Asking prices for condos rose 7.3 percent year-over-year in September, while asking prices for single-family homes rose 6.0 percent. Condo price gains outpaced single-family price gains in 18 of the largest 20 condo markets, according to Trulia.

Despite an uptick between the second and third quarters, home sales in the state of Pennsylvania failed once again to hit year-ago levels, according to data released Monday by the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors (PAR).

In Troy, Michigan, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM) announced the opening of its new Marketing Center, a free benefit for its partners that allows brokers and correspondents to create customized, professionally developed marketing flyers.