Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

Overall, Fannie's outlook is "largely unchanged from the previous forecast," although "fiscal uncertainties associated with the federal government shutdown, the protracted negotiations to raise the debt ceiling, and the timing of the Federal Reserve's tapering of its asset purchase program, pose significant downside risks to economic activity in the current quarter," said Doug Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae. As such, the GSE is revising its forecasted GDP growth for this year from 2 percent to 1.9 percent.

Purchase share continued to inch up in September as refinances receded, according to data presented by Ellie Mae in the company's Origination Insight Report.

Sentiment is "cautiously optimistic" surrounding the future of the nation's economy, although the federal government shutdown was cause for some concern, according to the Federal Reserve's Beige Book released Wednesday. Revealing economic conditions in each of the Federal Reserve's 12 districts, the report found "modest to moderate" economic expansion over the reporting period from August 27 through October 7. Reports of the housing market were generally positive, with most markets growing--or at least not faltering.

The Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) announced Wednesday the release of its Residential Reference Model Version 3.3 for public comment.

Mortgage rates broke their streak of weekly declines, climbing this week as the federal budget deadline approached.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has appointed Tricia Migliazzo as VP of membership for the association's Residential Policy & Member Services Group.

The once-volatile housing market is making strides toward equilibrium, according to a new report from Realtor.com.

Bank of America released Wednesday its third-quarter earnings report, showing healthy growth despite an expected weakening in its mortgage banking operations. According to the earnings release, BofA took in $2.5 billion in Q3, a significant increase from the $340 million reported in the year-ago quarter. However, the bank's Consumer Real Estate Services division reported a net loss of $1.0 billion, faring even worse than last year's loss of $857 million.

Builder confidence fell again in October but remained north of neutral, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Wednesday in its Housing Market Index (HMI) report. Despite declining for the second straight month, the index has hovered above the neutral mark for five consecutive months now, and NAHB reports seeing signs of pent-up demand in many markets across the country. Furthermore, the association believes October's drop represents a temporary blip.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Market Composite Index increased 0.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending October 11.