Category: Top National News

HousingWire, May 5, 2017–Matt SlonakerBy all accounts, our industry is moving well into the recovery. For some players, including the nation’s banks and capital markets investors who have invested heavily in distressed loan portfolios, this is misleading.

Mortgage Daily, May 5, 2017A significant quarter-over-quarter decline in home lending at PennyMac Financial Services Inc. contributed to a sharp drop in earnings. Staffing also contracted.

Mortgage Daily, May 5, 2017While the market is still digesting mixed monthly data on employment among all industries, mortgage brokers pushed up jobs in home lending.

National Real Estate Investor, May 8, 2017–Gary BechtelAccording to new statistics from the Mortgage Bankers Association, real estate lending is slowing down. Lenders closed $491 billion in mortgage loans in 2016, down 3 percent from the previous year.

MarketWatch, May 4, 2017–Andrea RiquierWhat Kayak.com does for travel booking, online mortgage broker Morty aims to do for the mortgage process.

Washington Post, May 4, 2017–Kathy OrtonMortgage rates held steady this week as mixed economic news kept them in check. Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed-rate average slipped to 4.02 percent with an average 0.5 point.

National Mortgage Professional, May 4, 2017–Phil HallOriginations of commercial and multifamily mortgages were up by nine percent on a year-over-year basis during the first quarter, according to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s However, the first quarter’s origination levels were 27 percent lower than the fourth quarter.

National Real Estate Investor, May 4, 2017–Diana BellCongress extended the EB-5 investor visa program through September 30, but after two years of re-enacting the program as-is, there are now genuine efforts to reform it including minimum investment amounts, stricter oversight and reclassification of targeted employment areas.

HousingWire, May 4, 2017–Kelsey RamirezThe company said the increase in revenues was predominantly the result of a lower negative change in the fair value of the company’s mortgage servicing rights for the first quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2016, partially offset by a decrease in gains on mortgage loans held for sale.

The Hill, May 4, 2017–Sylvan LaneThe House Financial Services Committee approved a bill Thursday to repeal and roll back significant pieces of the Dodd-Frank Act. The panel voted to send Chairman Jeb Hensarling’s (R-Texas) Financial CHOICE Act to the House floor, 34-26, along party lines.