After loosening steadily for several months, credit standards for mortgage loans ended 2013 at their lowest level all year, according to the December Origination Insight Report from Ellie Mae.
Read More »Departing Fed Chair Talks Economic Health, Defends Policies
In a conversation Thursday hosted by the Brookings Institution, outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's easy money policies, dismissing concerns of out of control inflation and capital losses. He also eased worries about the long-term effects of the financial crisis--including the impact of unemployment on labor supply and productivity--saying that while they are a problem, none of issues are "truly permanent."
Read More »Builder Confidence Levels Out in January
The NAHB's Housing Market Index (HMI) experienced a slight stumble in January, dipping a point from December as builders expressed falling confidence in the single-family market.
Read More »DataQuick Enhances Valuation Model to Boost Accuracy
DataQuick, a San Diego-based real estate information company, announced the addition of major enhancements to its automated property valuation model (AVM), CMV-Portfolio.
Read More »Mortgage Rates Retreat on Weak Economic News
December's discouraging jobs report caused mortgage rates to pull back once again last week.
Read More »MBA Data Points to Decline in December New Home Sales
The latest builder application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) suggest new home sales numbers came in below average for December. MBA's latest Builder Application Survey, a measure of application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders, shows applications for new home purchases dropped 11 percent from November to December (unadjusted). Unadjusted, MBA estimates the month saw 28,000 new home sales.
Read More »Former First Franklin CEO to Lead WDB Funding
WDB Funding, LLC, announced the appointment of Andrew Pollock as the firm's president and CEO. Pollock brings 25 years' experience heading large-scale lending operations to his new role, where he is responsible for providing day-to-day leadership, managing operations, and executing the strategic direction of the company.
Read More »Beige Book Indicates Continuing Economic Expansion
Representatives from the Federal Reserve's 12 districts reported moderate economic expansion across most of the country through the end of last year, with indicators pointing to more steady growth ahead. Real estate markets "generally continued to improve," according to the Fed, with most districts experiencing increase home sales activity and construction along with rising home prices. Credit standards were largely unchanged among the districts, though increased competition led to some instances of relaxed standards.
Read More »RealtyTrac Recruits Specialist to Drive Growth of Broker Network
RealtyTrac, one of the nation's leading sources for housing data, announced the hiring of real estate and technology specialist Samantha Tino as VP of sales for the RealtyTrac Network.
Read More »Home Price Growth Accelerates Despite Downward Pressure
Despite experiencing greater downward pressures from distressed sales and declining housing activity, home prices rose in November at their fastest monthly pace since summer, according to data from FNC, Inc.'s Residential Price Index (RPI) for the month. FNC's national composite index, constructed using sales data on non-distressed properties, rose 0.5 percent in November, perking up from October's meager 0.3 percent gain. The two narrower 10- and 30-city composites also ticked up, rising 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.
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