Origination

In Florida, Scott French has joined Auction Services International (ASI) as president.

The real estate market continued to slow its pace in June as inventory growth eased pressure for buyers to act fast, Redfin revealed in its Fastest Real Estate Markets Report. According to Redfin's data, the percentage of homes under contract within 14 days fell to 30.5 percent nationwide in June, down from 31.9 percent in May. However, things are still moving faster than they were last June, when only 23.2 percent of homes went under contract that quickly.

CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI) jumped 11.9 percent year-over-year in June, the company reported Tuesday. June's data falls short of the 13.2 percent growth projected in CoreLogic's Pending HPI for June. Month-over-month, June's index was up 1.9 percent from May, a full percentage point short of predictions (partially explained by a revision in May data). Looking ahead, the Pending HPI for July indicates home prices (including distressed sales) are expected to rise 12.5 percent yearly.

Mortgage credit availability opened up some more in July, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Mortgage Credit Availability Index (MCAI).

The number of job openings rose 29,000 in June to the highest level in five years, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). At the same time, the number of unemployed individuals per job opening dipped below 3 (to 2.99) for the first time since October 2008. The number of unemployed per job opening fell sharply in the construction industry to 6.2 in June--the lowest level since July 2008--from a revised 8.7 in May.

According to the Federal Reserve's latest quarterly Senior Loan Officers Opinion Survey, a net 3.1 percent of lenders responding said demand for "non-traditional" residential loans increased from the survey released three months ago and a net 25 percent of respondents said demand for loans from sub-prime borrowers was higher than it was in May. At the same time, a net 6.3 percent of lenders said they had eased lending terms and standards for non-traditional mortgage loans.

ReverseVision, a provider of reverse mortgage software, announced the signing of its newest client: MiLEND, Inc., a national lender headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mortgage closing costs are up 6 percent over the past year, according to a report from Bankrate.com. The average closing cost across the United States rose over the year to $2,402. Origination fees increased 8 percent to $1,730--accounting for the bulk of the increase in closing costs--while third-party fees rose 1 percent to $672. In terms of highest average closing costs, Hawaii took the top spot with an average of $2,919. It was joined in the top five by Alaska, South Carolina, California, and New Mexico.

Since helping draft the final rule for a qualified mortgage, former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Deputy Director Raj Date has resigned from the agency and opened his own advisory and investment firm aimed specifically at those borrowers who do not meet the standards for 'qualified mortgages' as set by the CFPB under rules. This turn of events has raised questions as to the agency's ethics and integrity, prompting lawmakers to call for a release of communications between Date and others regarding the company's creation.

The latest Home Index Survey (PGHI) from PulteGroup shows current homeowners may accelerate their timeline to "move up." With home values on the rise, 43 percent of move-up buyers in the survey said they plan to purchase a new home in the next five years. "One of the most intriguing findings from this PGHI survey is the optimism and the willingness of homeowners to 'pull the trigger' on buying a new home, even if they may not have an immediate need to move," said Deborah Wahl, SVP and chief marketing officer for PulteGroup.