With investment activity diminishing and mortgage-dependent buyers returning, economists at Capital Economics say the housing market can look forward to a more moderate pace of price increases.
Read More »Fannie’s Book of Business Grows in November
Fannie Mae's book of business increased for the second month in a row in November, marking the fourth month of increases in 2013, according to the GSE's monthly volume report. Fannie Mae's book of business grew at a compounded annualized rate of 0.1 percent in November, down from 0.8 percent in October. Fannie's total book of business is valued at $3.17 trillion as of November, while its total mortgage portfolio totals $496 billion.
Read More »Home Prices See Meager Growth in Alternate October Index
Lender Processing Services' (LPS) monthly Home Price Index--released a day before the Case-Shiller figures--climbed to $232,000 in October, putting prices about 8.2 percent higher than they were at the start of 2013. Annually, LPS' index was up approximately 8.8 percent, a minor increase compared to the annual improvement in the Case-Shiller index. Monthly, gains came to about 0.1 percent, also down relative to the Case-Shiller report.
Read More »United Wholesale Ranks No. 1 Among Wholesale Lenders in Q3
United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), one of the nation's fastest-growing wholesale lenders, has good reason to celebrate going into 2014: The company was ranked on Mortgagestats.com as the No. 1 wholesale lender in the country for the third quarter of 2013.
Read More »Interest Rates Rise to Open New Year
Mortgage rates began 2014 with a round of increases, kicking off a trend many experts believe will continue through the rest of the year. Freddie Mac's weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaging 4.53 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending January 2, up from the last week of 2013, when it averaged 4.48 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate.com reported the 30-year fixed at 4.69 percent, a gain of 6 basis points.
Read More »Trulia VP Joins RESO Board of Directors
Trulia, an online marketplace for homebuyers, sellers, and real estate professionals, announced it has forged a partnership with the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), a nonprofit dedicated to standardizing real estate data in order to promote accuracy and consistency in the industry. In addition to the partnership, Trulia announced that its own VP of industry services, Alon Chaver, will join RESO's board of directors effective January 1.
Read More »U.S. Consumer Confidence Bounces Back
Consumer confidence saw a boost in December on heightened optimism for the job market, the Conference Board reported.
Read More »Home Prices Jump 13.6% in October
Home prices rose annually for the 17th straight month in October, achieving their highest yearly gain in nearly eight years, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices released Tuesday. Both the 10- and 20-city composite indices saw annual increases of 13.6 percent in October--the largest year-over-year growth since February 2006. As of the end of the month, average home prices nationwide had recovered to mid-2004 levels; compared to their mid-2006 peaks, both composites were still down about 20 percent.
Read More »Business Declines for Fifth Straight Month at Freddie Mac
Freddie Mac's total book of business decreased at an annualized rate of 2 percent in November compared to an annualized rate of 6.4 percent in October, according to the GSE's latest monthly volume report.
Read More »McLean Mortgage Introduces RateFlex Program
McLean Mortgage Corporation announced the release of its RateFlex Program, a new concept designed to aid homeowners and prospective homebuyers in today's volatile interest rate environment.
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