Moving forward on another of its performance goals for 2013, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Monday that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have completed a major overhaul of mortgage insurance master policy requirements. "Updating the mortgage insurance master policy requirements is a significant accomplishment for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," said FHFA acting director Ed DeMarco. "The new standards ... enhance the insurance protection provided to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which ultimately benefits taxpayers."
Read More »Title365 Appoints SVP of National Sales
Title365 Company, a provider of title insurance and escrow services based in California, announced the hiring of Jeremy Harmon as SVP of national sales.
Read More »Consumer Sentiment Rebounds as Stagnant Outlook Emerges
The Index of Consumer Sentiment, a joint measure tracked by the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters, rose to 75.1 for the final November tally, making up some of the ground lost in October, when it dropped to 73.2. Last year, the index was measured at 82.7. While November's improvement made up somewhat for October's shutdown-related losses, consumers still feel stung by the government's economic debate. Spontaneous negative references to the government's economic policies were made by 32 percent of Americans in November.
Read More »BofA, Freddie Mac Come to $404M Agreement on Legacy Loans
Bank of America and Freddie Mac jointly announced Monday an agreement resolving all remaining rep and warranties claims on loans BofA sold to the GSE through the end of 2009.
Read More »New Hire to Lead 360 Mortgage Group’s East Coast Operations
A new face has joined the Austin-based 360 Mortgage Group. Joseph Kowalewski has been brought on as regional manager of the East Region of the United States.
Read More »National Home Values Post Second Consecutive Monthly Decline
For the first time in two years, national home values registered a decline for two straight months, according to the Zillow Real Estate Market Reports released Tuesday. Furthermore, while annual gains continue, they are cooling, according to Zillow. "The months-long period of annual home value appreciation rates in the 6 and 7 percent range was great while it lasted, but we knew it would not continue indefinitely," said Zillow's chief economist, Stan Humphries.
Read More »ReverseVision, Mason-McDuffie Partner to Streamline Loan Process
In San Diego, software provider ReverseVision introduced its newest client: Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corporation, a lender with more than a century of experience helping homeowners achieve the American Dream.
Read More »Mortgage Applications Experience Slight Decline
Last week saw another drop in mortgage application volume, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported in its Weekly Applications Survey. MBA's Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent the week ending November 22, the group reported. It was the fourth straight week of decreases in loan application activity. On an unadjusted basis, the index declined 9 percent week-over-week.
Read More »FHFA Reports ‘Another Strong Quarter’ of Home Price Appreciation
Following a trend maintained over the past nine quarters, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA's) Home Price Index (HPI) posted an increase over the third quarter. The index, which incorporates sales data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, rose 2 percent over the third quarter and 8.4 percent over the year. Also notable, the third quarter is the first time since 2009 that national home prices are higher than they were five years earlier, according to FHFA.
Read More »Mortgage Rates Fall Slightly in October
Having risen for the previous four months, mortgage interest rates stumbled in October, according to data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
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