Tag Archives: Investors

Rolling out a new online platform for real estate agents, Zillow, Inc., recently announced the launch of Agent Hub. Zillow's tool will give users a place to find and manage information from the website in one location. Additionally, the CRM platform automatically saves leads and connections accrued via Zillow, allowing agents to make individual notations and track high-priority contacts. Other benefits provided through Agent Hub include an analytics dashboard for monitoring listings and agent profiles and metrics.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland has released its spring Forefront report addressing the budget shortfalls throughout the U.S. Examining the risk that weakening public finances have on specific regions of the country, the Cleveland Fed is forecasting an uncertain future for the country's financial stability. The pension funds, which would deliver a shock to the broader financial system upon failure, appear more stable than previous reports have suggested. The bank evaluated bank capital requirements and tax system tradeoffs.

Mortgage servicers would feel the pain if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finalizes new rules it plans to propose this summer, according to Fitch Ratings. The ratings agency said in a statement that increased operational, compliance, and reporting expenses would take place if the rules take effect without any modification by the agency. The CFPB issued statements last week that signal its intentions to roll out with new proposals for rules that require more disclosure and transparency from servicers.

Touting its unique platform, Tradeweb Markets LLC has announced that the company recently reached a new benchmark, with more than $1 trillion in mortgage securities risk offset through the use of its trading technology. Tradeweb credits the company's new round-robin functionality of its programs for its success in the to-be announced-mortgage-backed securities (TBA-MBS) market.

Capitol Hill staffers are getting a chance to learn more about the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. The company recently announced that it will hold a free clinic for Congressional employees on Tuesday, April 17. The financial planning initiative from CFP is part of the 2012 Financial Literacy Day, which was organized by Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. Through the clinic, CFP will offer one-on-one personal finance consultation for participants. Attendees for the CFP event will gain advice on mortgages, debt management, and more.

Builder confidence fell three points in April to 25, matching the lowest point of the year, the National Association of Home Builders said Monday. The month-over-month decline was the first since last September. All three components of the index ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô current sales, sales six months out and buyer traffic ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô fell in April, with buyer traffic slipping to a four month low. The builder assessment of present home sales conditions dropped three points to 26. The outlook for home sales in the next six months also fell three points to 32.

Ginnie Mae reported $29.23 billion in guarantees for mortgage-backed securities in March this year. The company found Ginnie Mae II single-family pools on the way up with more than $21.56 billion in guarantees, alongside Ginnie Mae I single-family pools that totaled more than $5.34 billion. Single-family issuance for March reached $27.78 billion, while issuance for Home Equity Conversion securities for Ginnie Mae II single-family pools arrived at $882 million for the month.

JPMorgan Chase reaped a net income of $461 million in first-quarter income from mortgage production and servicing, a slight change of pace from $1.1 billion seen in net losses last year. The bank said that the results came off 33 percent in application volume from the first quarter. Except for repurchase losses, revenue stemming from mortgage production climbed to $1.6 billion, up 80 percent from the previous year. Repurchase losses hovered at $302 million, a carry-over from $420 million in repurchase losses seen last year.

Mortgage rates fell once more as economic worries accelerate on the heels of a disappointing jobs report and debt crises overseas, with rates for the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage slamming into new lows. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac found the 15-year loan cresting at 3.11 percent, a new all-time low below 3.13 percent seen in early March. Freddie also said that the 30-year loan yet again averaged 3.88 percent, down from 3.98 percent last week. The 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage fell from 2.86 percent to 2.85 percent, while the 1-year ARM went up to 2.80 percent from 2.78 percent.

First time claims for unemployment insurance jumped 13,000 to 380,000 for the week ended April 7, the Labor Department reported Thursday, the highest level since the end of January. At the same time the previous week's report was adjusted upward by 10,000, wiping out what had been a four-year low and showing an increase of 4,000 initial claims instead of an originally reported drop of 6,000 for the week ending in late March. Economists had expected initial claims would increase - from the original report - to 359,000. The week-over-week jump in first time claims was the second straight of the year.