News

Genworth U.S. Mortgage Insurance (USMI), a unit of Genworth Financial, Inc., announced it will offer 24 training classes in April to help mortgage lenders and servicers improve their efficiency and build their business.

The seasonal surge in home sales combined with another drop in listings to further drive up prices in March, Redfin observed in its latest Real-Time Price Tracker.

With the price of a new home barely above year-ago levels, builder confidence fell for the third straight month in April, dropping two points to 42.

In the budget he unveiled this week, President Obama, as he has in so many policy initiatives, attempted to reshape the political lexicon.

While rapid price gains have some analysts issuing warnings about a housing bubble in the making, newly released reports argue that a repeat of the 2008 crash is unlikely.

A recent industry survey detects rising optimism in the commercial real estate and single-family housing sectors over the next few years. The survey, conducted by the Urban Land Institute and Ernst & Young, finds a consensus among analysts that the real estate market will improve as transaction volumes rise and vacancies decline. "After a prolonged period of uncertainty, we're seeing a revival of investor confidence as the economy continues to recovery," said Dean Schwanke, SVP at the Urban Land Institute.

Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced the promotion of Fred C. Graham to deputy director of the Division of Federal Home Loan Bank Regulation. Graham has been with FHFA since its establishment in 2008 and has held several senior positions within the agency.

Fannie Mae issued approximately $8.2 billion of multifamily mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in Q1 2013, according to a company release.

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase both pulled in record quarterly profits during the first months of 2013, according to earnings reports released Friday by both banks. Wells Fargo reported record net income of $5.2 billion for Q1 2013, up from $5.1 billion quarter-over-quarter and from $4.2 billion year-over-year. JPMorgan also posted strong performance across its businesses, recording a net income of $6.5 billion (compared with $4.9 billion in the first quarter of 2012).

January saw nearly half a million new refinances, according to data released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).