News

Stonegate Mortgage Corporation, a publicly-traded mortgage firm operating in Indiana, named Robert B. Eastep as its new CFO.

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) put out a “flash release” of its National Mortgage Risk Index (NMRI), a measure of the likelihood of purchase loan defaults under stressful economic conditions. According to the group, the index climbed last month to 11.89, indicating nearly 12 percent of loans would be at risk of default in the event of another downturn. That figure is up from a reading of 11.5 percent in March and represents a series high for the index.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Monday a 5 percent month-over-month increase in new home purchase applications. The increase is the lowest so far this year, following gains of 15 percent in March, 12 percent in February, and 27 percent in January. Based on application volumes and other market considerations, the group estimates new single-family sales ran at a seasonally adjusted yearly pace of 419,000 last month.

In a recent audit of the Federal Housing Finance Agency's practices commissioned by the agency's inspector general, CohnReznick found that FHFA has "opportunities to further strengthen its oversight of the Enterprises' monitoring of the financial condition of mortgage insurers and their related risk exposure."

Home asking prices rose just 9.0 percent year-over-year in April, the smallest gain in 11 months, and Trulia chief economist Jed Kolko has a few ideas why that number has fallen. One reason for the slippage is from a large price spike during the housing recovery in February and April of 2013, according Kolko. Year-over-year changes in April 2014 no longer include these elevated months, dropping yearly asking price numbers.

A recently unveiled plan to phase out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and overhaul the secondary mortgage market may have hit another snag, with six key senators reportedly deciding not to give their support. According to Bloomberg, six members of the Senate Banking Committee—all Democrats—have cited concerns that plans in the Johnson-Crapo proposal for finance reform "seemed unworkable."

Moving forward in its efforts to expand lending options for non-prime borrowers, Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC announced the appointment of a new national sales director hired to focus on what the company says is an underserved market.

As home sellers become more confident in the housing market, many are taking on what Redfin calls a “risky pricing strategy,” according to the online real estate brokerage’s latest survey. A little more than 40 percent of home sellers plan to price their homes above market value, Redfin’s data shows. Regardless of this bolstered confidence, Redfin warns overpricing a home is not a wise strategy in today’s market.

Single-family home sales in Connecticut increased year-over-year in March, marking the 11th consecutive annual increase, according to the Warren Group. Meanwhile, the state’s median home price experienced its first downward slide since June 2012. However, Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of the Warren Group, called March’s price drop “an aberration of data and not the start of a new trend.”

A new report from RealtyTrac indicates all-cash home sales accounted for 42.7 percent of first-quarter purchases, a record high since the company started tracking the data in 2011. "Strict lending standards combined with low inventory continue to give the advantage to investors and other cash buyers in this housing market," said Daren Blomquist, VP at RealtyTrac.