According to a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, a huge majority of brokers in the region observed an increase in sales in May, with 40 percent saying numbers were up "slightly" over last year and another 44 percent saying sales were up "significantly." Builders also indicated sales were stronger than last year, with 38 percent reporting slight increases and 33 reporting significant improvements. However, builders noted that sales growth had slowed from April.
Read More »Citi, Fannie Mae Announce $968M Repurchase Agreement
Citigroup and Fannie Mae announced Monday an agreement to resolve future repurchase claims for breaches of representations of warranties on millions of loans originated between 2000 and 2012. As part of the agreement, Citi will pay Fannie Mae $968 million, "substantially all of which was covered" by the bank's existing mortgage repurchase reserves as of the end of the first quarter. The settlement covers 3.7 million first mortgage loans sold to the GSE.
Read More »Commentary: Drumbeats of a Coming Slowdown
While the reaction to Thursday's report on personal income and spending for May was largely positive, it may have also been misplaced.
Read More »FHFA: Interest Rates Fall, Loan Amounts Rise in May
Interest rates declined 0.15 percent in May, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Read More »LenderLive to Provide Subservicing for Pingora
LenderLive Network, an end-to-end mortgage services provider headquartered in Colorado, announced a partnership to provide subservicing for Pingora, a specialized asset manager focused on investing in and managing the servicing of newly produced mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolios.
Read More »First American Title Insurance Names National Sales Director
In California, Rudy Casanova joined the mortgage services division at First American Title Insurance as national sales director, the company announced in a release.
Read More »Mortgage Insurers Report May Growth
Private mortgage insurance business saw a sharp increase for the third straight month in May, according to a monthly report from Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA). Together, member companies issued 52,545 certificates on new mortgage loans totaling more than $12.0 billion in volume. The increase in volume comes as little surprise, given the rising trend in applications received over the last several months. With applications totaling 55,535 in May, activity should continue to improve.
Read More »Jones Lang LaSalle Acquires Quadrant Realty Finance
Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) announced the acquisition of Dallas-based Quadrant Realty Finance (QRF), a debt and equity origination platform.
Read More »Loan Volume, Profits Decline at Independent Mortgage Bankers
Profits and loan volume declined at independent mortgage bankers in the first quarter of the year, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported.
Read More »Mortgage Rates Explode as Fed Hints of Taper
Mortgage rates shot up in the last week following remarks from the Federal Reserve that it may be tapering its bond purchases later this year. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) rose to 4.46 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending June 27, an increase from only 3.93 percent last week and the highest figure since the week of July 28. The weekly increase is the largest since April 1987.
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