Mortgage Master, one of the nation's largest privately owned mortgage companies, announced the opening of a new retail branch location to serve Connecticut's Greater Hartford area.
Read More »Economy, Housing Continuing on Slow Track to ‘Normal’
While fiscal headwinds have held back economic growth, Fannie Mae maintains in its newest outlook that the recovery should pick up the pace in the year's second half.
Read More »Mortgage Rates Rise for 6th Straight Week
According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.98 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending June 13, up from 3.91 percent last week.
Read More »Autos Boost May Retail Sales
Driven by stronger auto sales but held back by falling gasoline sales, total retail sales increased 0.6 percent in May, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. Excluding auto sales, retail activity increased 0.3 percent in May compared with April, when it was essentially flat.
Read More »Report: Inventory Crunch Showing Signs of Easing
The overall number of listings on Zillow was down 12.2 percent year-over-year at the start of June, an improvement from the 17.5 percent shortfall recorded in January.
Read More »First-Time Jobless Filings Continue Down
First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell to 334,000 for week ending June 8, dropping 12,000 after decreasing 11,000 one week earlier, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected initial claims to increase to 350,000 from the prior week. Claims filings for the week ending June 1 remained at the originally reported 346,000.
Read More »First Quarter Sees Significant Decline in Underwater Borrowers
Significant improvements in home values helped lift 850,000 borrowers out of negative equity in the first quarter, CoreLogic reported. Overall, 9.7 million borrowers, or 19.8 percent of all residential mortgages, were underwater in the first quarter of 2013, down from 10.5 million, or 21.7 percent of all mortgages, according to the data provider's estimate.
Read More »FGMC Adds Division, Opens Florida Fulfillment Center
First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. (FGMC) announced it has added a division in its Third Party Originator (TPO) created to focus on United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Program loans as well as manufactured housing loans under Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Veterans Affairs (VA), and conventional loan programs.
Read More »Survey: Growing Number of Applications Submitted During Work Hours
A majority of people applying for mortgage loans online are applying during work hours, according to a recent survey by MortgageMarvel.com.
Read More »Mortgage Fraud Risk Inches Up in Q1, Purchase Fraud Leads Refinances
Mortgage fraud risk edged up slightly in the first quarter of 2013, Interthinx revealed in its latest quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report. California was the riskiest state in the nation, boasting a mortgage fraud risk index of 125. The report also shows that purchase mortgages have a higher fraud risk than refinances, with index values of 118 and 88, respectively. In addition, 10 states are in the "very high risk" category when considering only purchase loans.
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