The housing recovery continued as expected in 2013, but that's not to say there weren't a few surprises. "[T]he recovery accelerated a lot faster than we anticipated, which was great for sellers and for the 75 million homeowners who saw their home values appreciate," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors (NAR), in a post titled "7 Housing Trends for 2013." Another surprise for Yun was the large portion of cash purchases.
Read More »2013 in Review: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Mortgage industry commentators may argue (and they certainly have) about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) performance over the last year, but one thing is certain: The bureau knows how to command headlines. Early this year, CFPB finally issued its long awaited Qualified Mortgage (QM) guidelines along with a slew of other finance regulations. With the future of housing finance on the line, it's no wonder readers of theMReport.com couldn't tear themselves away from the news.
Read More »Refinance Share Rebounds in November
A slight decline in mortgage rates spurred refinance activity up in November, Ellie Mae revealed in its latest monthly Origination Insights Report.
Read More »Wingspan Names SVP for Business Development
In Texas, Wingspan Portfolio Advisors hired Aaron Luburich to take the newly created position of SVP for business development.
Read More »Existing-Home Sales Continue to Spiral Down
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) calculated an adjusted annualized sales rate of 4.90 million for existing homes last month, representing a drop from 5.12 million in October and 4.96 million in November 2012. According to the group, it was the first time in 29 months that sales fell below year-ago levels. Singling out single-family home sales, transactions were at an adjusted pace of 4.32 million, down 3.8 percent month-over-month and 0.9 percent year-over-year.
Read More »Optimal Blue Acquires LoanSifter, Builds on Operations
Optimal Blue, a cloud-based services provider headquartered in the Dallas area, announced its acquisition of LoanSifter, Inc., a leading provider of product eligibility and pricing, point-of-sale, and marketing solutions for lenders.
Read More »Mortgage Rates Little Changed in Wake of Taper Announcement
For all the Sturm und Drang surrounding discussions of the Federal Reserve slowing down its monthly asset purchases, mortgage rate movements were somewhat subdued this week leading up to Wednesday's announcement of cuts to the stimulus program. Freddie Mac reported small rate jumps for the week ending December 19, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) average inching up to 4.47 percent (0.7 point) from 4.42 percent previously. Last year, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.37 percent.
Read More »Flagstar to Sell $40.7B in Servicing Rights to REIT
Flagstar Bancorp, Inc., announced a deal with Matrix Financial Services Corporation, a subsidiary of Two Harbors, an REIT. According to Flagstar's announcement, the agreement covers the sale of $40.7 billion in unpaid principal balance on residential MSRs, an amount making up about 55 percent of Flagstar's mortgage loans "serviced-for-others" portfolio. The pool of loans covered in the deal is made up of loans originated mostly after 2010 and serviced for Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae, the announcement says.
Read More »Ginnie Mae Begins First Phase in Modernizing Securitization Platform
Ginnie Mae, a government corporation focused on ensuring liquidity to support mortgage lending, announced the start of the first phase in its initiative to modernize its securitization platform. The plan kicked off with the release of four new systems applications for issuers: Request for Pool Numbers, Request for Commitment Authority, Submission of Master Agreements for Certification and Recertification, and Request Transfer of Issuer Responsibility.
Read More »Survey: Lenders Challenged in Shift to Paperless Processes
As the industry moves further and further toward eMortgage and paperless initiatives, a new survey shows compliance demands are having the greatest impact in the shift to tech-powered solutions.
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