Servicing

The numbers are in, and New York tops the list of states boasting the highest mortgage closing costs nationwide. The results of the Bankrate, Inc. survey demonstrate New York├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós dubious dominance in closing fees for the second straight year. Other high-cost areas rounding out the top five? Texas, Utah, San Francisco, and Idaho. Nationally, the total cost of origination and title fees has risen since last year by 8.8 percent, to an average cost of $4,070 on a $200,000 mortgage.

On Thursday news reports confirmed that mortgage giant JPMorgan plans to scale back a $154 billion mortgage portfolio to a bare minimum on its balance sheets, even as it battles through continuing mortgage losses, multiple suits and settlements over past loan-servicing practices.

A report published by turnaround management firm Anderson Bauman Tourtellot Vos found that a recent move by the Obama administration to clear office space in Atlanta could strangle the city's still-recovering commercial real estate sector, potentially throwing back markets in a state with the fifth-largest amount of government real estate outside of Washington, D.C. The firm fears that a reduction in government-owned property will also crimp employment.

Fueling fears about a federal default scenario, fragile debt-ceiling negotiations continued to splinter and stagnate this week, with Republicans refusing to budge on proposed tax increases and Democrats fighting to keep entitlements off the chopping block. If trends continue and the federal government defaults on its national debt, housing economists and mortgage rate analysts predict spikes in interest and mortgage rates, with steep and potentially catastrophic declines in homes sales.

A monthly update from Capital Economics holds that small upticks in home prices and sales reflect anomalous behavior in the market, thanks in part to a generous seasonal uplift. The report predicts continued falls in home sales.

According to an announcement made Tuesday, WFG National Title Insurance hailed move-ups by two to its Louisiana agency division. Stephen Sklamba and Liz Pecoraro will take on new roles as VP and underwriting counsel and state sales manager, respectively. Stephen and Liz are well-established and highly regarded by a wide number of independent agencies in Louisiana, Charles Cain, SVP and agency manager, their new boss, said in a statement.

In a statement released Thursday, Global DMS announced that the Uniform Collateral Data Portal would now offer its appraisal process management software to lenders and appraisal companies.

If two companies have their way, residential mortgage-backed securities may make a comeback. BlackRock Inc. and Two Harbors Investment Corporation said they may make a return to AA bond ratings.

House Republican lawmakers advanced a round of attacks against Treasury Department adviser and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau architect Elizabeth Warren Thursday, even as Democrats fired back.

Freddie Mac released a southerly primary mortgage market survey Thursday, revealing downward trends for mortgage rates across the board against a backdrop of anemic job growth and steadily increasing unemployment figures. According to the GSE, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 4.51 percent falling from 4.60 percent last week and staying just under the 4.57 percent average it struck last year. The data for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages yielded a fall from 3.75 percent last week to 3.65 percent this week.