National Mortgage News, Apr. 23, 2018–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)In 2016 the FHA denial rate among all minority groups was 14.4%. At the same time, the difference in denial rates between whites and minorities for conventional mortgages also grew over the same period.
Category: Top National News

Spring’s 2018 Real Estate Market Is A Good News Bad News Story
Forbes, Apr 23, 2018–Ellen ParisConsensus is if you are in the market for a home and can make it happen, now is the time jump in.

Wells Fargo to Pay $1 Billion in Fines Over Auto, Mortgage Lending Abuses
Los Angeles Times, Apr. 20, 2018–James Rufus KorenThe penalty, announced by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is the largest levied against a financial firm since President Trump took office and one of the largest against any U.S. bank not related to the financial crisis.

GE Takes Hit From Old Mortgage Unit but Says Turnaround on Track
Wall Street Journal, Apr. 20, 2018–Thomas Gryta (subscription)General Electric Co. reported a quarterly loss on a $1.5 billion charge related to a subprime mortgage business it once owned, but executives said they were making progress on their efforts to turn around its industrial businesses.

Climate Fears Reshape Miami’s Home Prices
Wall Street Journal, Apr. 20, 2018–Laura Kusisto, Arian Campo-Flores (subscription)MIAMI-Concerns over rising sea levels and floods are beginning to reshape one of the country’s largest housing markets, with properties closer to sea level now trading at discounts to those at higher elevations.

Pricey U.S. Home Sales Soar as Buyers Ignore New Tax Code
Reuters, Apr. 20, 2018–Herbert LashA housing shortage, strong economy and robust demand have pushed many homes in major U.S. cities over $1 million, offsetting buyers’ concerns about the reduced benefits of owning a pricey property under President Donald Trump’s tax reform, data show.

Mortgage Refi Activity Jumps
Mortgage Daily, Apr. 20, 2018During the week of April 20, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortgage Daily was virtually unchanged from the preceding seven-day period. However, the index, an indicator of upcoming residential loan originations based on average per-user rate locks by customers of OpenClose, has descended 12 percent compared to the same week last year.

How These Hurricane-Ravaged States Avoided a Housing Disaster–So Far
CNN, Apr. 22, 2018″It’s a different world now,” says Sara Singhas, associate regulatory counsel at the Mortgage Bankers Association, referring to the recent departure from rock-bottom interest rates. “Especially for people who are performing on their loans, we wanted to make sure we don’t put them into a worse financial position than they were prior to the disaster.”

10-Year Treasury Hits Four-Year High. Will Mortgage Rates Spike Next?
National Mortgage News, Apr. 20, 2018–Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Yields on the 10-year Treasury hit their highest level since the start of 2014 and got very close to cracking the 3% mark.

RealPage Continues Growing, Set to Acquire ClickPay for $218 Million
HousingWire, Apr. 20, 2018–Ben LaneThe company announced Friday that it is acquiring ClickPay, an electronic payment platform servicing 2.3 million units across the multifamily, HOA, condominium and co-op segments of real estate, in a $218 million deal.