Mortgage Applications Decrease in MBA Weekly Survey

Mortgage applications fell for the first time in a month as key interest rates increased last week, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported this morning in its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending October 18.

Signs of Wavering in Remodeling Forecasts

Annual gains in homeowner spending for improvements and repairs are set to “give out” by the second half of next year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity report from the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

September Existing Home Sales Fall 2.2%

Existing home sales fell by 2.2 percent in September, following two consecutive months of increases, the National Association of Realtors reported yesterday.

Garth Graham of STRATMOR Group on the Current M&A Market

Garth Graham is a senior partner with STRATMOR Group, a 30-year-old mortgage banking consulting firm. He has more than 30 years’ experience in mortgage banking, ranging from Fortune 500 companies to successful startups. At STRATMOR, he manages M&A activities, providing strategies for independent and bank-owned mortgage lenders.

Residential Briefs

Black Knight Inc., Jacksonville, Fla., launched Regulatory Assist, designed to help clients streamline the compliance-testing process and make compliance validation easier and quicker.

MBA Letter Lauds FDIC Proposed ‘Safe Harbor’ Rulemaking

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in an Oct. 21 letter to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., expressed strong support for a proposed rulemaking that would remove barriers for issuance of private residential mortgage-backed securities without jeopardizing safety and soundness of RMBS sponsors or investors.