Tag Archives: Lenders & Servicers

Instead of bringing America together and setting us forth on the path towards economic growth and prosperity, what President Obama did in his State of the Union address was offer of the same misguided, go-it-alone ideas we've heard before, as opposed to real job creation and economic growth. Rather than go through the same divisive rhetoric and "stale political arguments" Americans have grown tired of, let's agree to put politics aside and do what's best for everyone, not just the chosen few.

Norcom Mortgage announced its entry into the Florida market with the opening of a new branch in Trinity. The Connecticut-based lender also announced the appointment of Barry Horvath to lead operations at the new location.

In its first meeting this year, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted to once again cut back on the Fed's bond-buying program.

If this year's subfreezing temperatures have you fantasizing about warmer climes, you're not alone: An analysis of Web search traffic on Trulia finds home searches in the country's warmer regions have gone up this winter as the mercury has plunged. The company's statistics (collected from December 1, 2013, through January 21, 2014) show that for every 10-degree drop in temperature, searches on the company's engine increase by 2.6 percent nationally. For warm regions specifically, home searches rise 4.4 percent.

Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC appointed Ed Ciemny to lead its office in Oak Brook, Illinois, the company announced.

Mortgage application volume remained essentially flat last week, with refinance and purchase loan numbers canceling each other out, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. According to MBA's Weekly Mortgage Application Survey, loan application volume fell a scant 0.2 percent (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending January 24. The results include an adjustment to account for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, on which markets were closed. Unadjusted, applications fell 9 percent week-over-week.

In his speech Tuesday night, the president only directly mentioned housing twice: first to describe the market as "rebounding" and again to demand from Congress "legislation that protects the taxpayers from footing the bill for a housing crisis ever again." While the second might be seen as a nod toward legislative movements to abolish Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the topic wasn't explored any further. Instead, much of Obama's focus went toward addressing wage stagnation.

LendingQB unveiled on Monday its latest innovation: a consumer Web portal designed to keep pipelines flowing with lucrative leads.

As fixed interest rates continue on their upward path, initial-period rates on adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) remain near historic lows--a stat the Freddie Mac anticipates will factor into borrowing decisions in the year ahead. "As longer-term interest rates rise, ARMs with their lower initial interest rates will become more appealing to loan applicants," said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac. "We are expecting ARMs to gradually gain back some favor with mortgage borrowers."

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased again in January, continuing December's rebound from months of declines. According to the group, the index rose 3.2 points to a reading of 80.7 in January. December's original reading was revised down from the originally reported 78.1 to 77.5. January's increase puts the index just above the 80.2 reading reported before the government shutdown in October. "All in all, confidence appears to be back on track," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.