News

Estimated Q1 originations by all U.S. lenders came out to about $505 billion, according to Mortgage Daily.

Texan law firm Farris Law Group, PLLC announced the hiring of three new team members to focus on the company's growth and expansion, especially in the mortgage document preparation department.

Driven by stronger auto sales (but held back by falling gasoline prices), total retail sales increased an unexpected 0.1 percent in April, the Census Bureau reported Monday. Economists had expected sales to fall 0.3 percent. Sales at building material and supply stores jumped $389 million for the month, a 1.5 percent increase--the largest month-over-month increase since September. Sales at furniture and home furnishings stores were flat to March. Those two retail categories have a direct relationship to home sales.

When the Federal Open Market Committee completed its two-day meeting at the beginning of May, it issued the usual six-paragraph post-meeting statement.

Home sales declined in March, but demand for mortgage credit increased, according to the US Housing Market Monthly from Capital Economics. Recently, the Fed reported an increase in home purchase applications in April, and credit "loosened a touch," the report stated. The firm maintains an overall positive outlook on the market despite the small decline in March sales and quashes any concerns of another bubble forming. In fact, Capital Economics calculated it could take "until 2017 for housing to return to fair value."

As the housing market experiences a burgeoning recovery with rising prices, an uptick in sales, and an increase in housing starts, Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth A. Duke points out purchase-originations remain "subdued," especially among individuals with less than stellar credit scores. While originations are down across the board, "[t]he drop in originations has been most pronounced among borrowers with lower credit scores," Duke said at the Housing Policy Executive Council Thursday in Washington, D.C.

CoreLogic, based in Irvine, California, announced the availability of its LoanSafe suite of risk mitigation solutions through seven different loan origination systems (LOS).

Fannie Mae and Dallas-based accounting firm, KPMG agreed to a $153 million settlement with a group of Ohio shareholders last week.

KeyBank Real Estate Capital, the commercial real estate business unit of KeyCorp, entered into agreements with Bank of America and Berkadia Commercial Mortgage that will lead it to become one of the nation's largest commercial mortgage servicers.

zIngenuity, a risk management and mortgage fulfillment services provider based in the Dallas area, has reinvented its website to align with its current services offerings, the company announced.