The Lede

Washington Post, Apr. 14, 2016--Orton, Kathy Although low mortgage rates would help affordability in the housing market, reservations about where the economy is headed seem to be having an effect on home buyers.

National Mortgage Professional, Apr. 14, 2016--Hall, Phil The Mortgage Bankers Association Builder Application Survey reported mortgage applications for new home purchases increased by 17 percent from February to March.

Los Angeles Times, Apr. 14, 2016--Puzzanghera, Jim The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Thursday announced a long-awaited initiative to allow some homeowners facing foreclosure to reduce the principal on their mortgages.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 14, 2016--Rudegeair, Peter; Glazer, Emily Wells Fargo & Co.'s first-quarter profit fell 5.9% as the nation's third-largest bank by assets said the slump in oil prices continued to punish energy companies and started to hurt some consumers.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 14, 2016--Taylor, Candace A few months after selling for $13.5 million, a Brooklyn Heights apartment building is being marketed as a single-family home at nearly twice the price.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 14, 2016--Finkelstein, Brad Total mortgage income at B of A was $433 million, down from $694 million a year ago as the strategy of putting loans on its balance sheet meaning the bank gets less gain-on-sale revenue.

HousingWire, Apr. 14, 2016--Barraza, Cynthia A shortage of housing coupled with healthy demand is helping to keep house prices elevated, especially in cities with massive housing shortages, like San Francisco.

Bloomberg, Apr. 14, 2016--Chandra, Sho Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits unexpectedly declined last week to match a more than 42-year low, indicating employers are upbeat about an economy that bogged down in the first quarter.

Bloomberg, Apr. 14, 2016--Alloway, Tracy; Kawa, Luke A permanently bloated balance sheet and the scrapping of the federal funds rate as a policy target loom.

Reuters, Apr. 14, 2016--Mutikani, Lucia U.S. consumer prices barely rose in March and underlying inflation slowed, suggesting little urgency for a cautious Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in the near term.

CNBC, Apr. 14, 2016--Frank, Robert The Miami real estate slowdown is becoming a meltdown--with the most expensive areas getting hit hardest.

Housing Wire, Apr. 14, 2016--Lane, BenThe Federal Housing Finance Agency plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to offer principal reductions to certain borrowers gets mixed reactions. MBA President and CEO David Stevens said FHFA has a "difficult challenge in trying to help underwater homeowners in some of the markets that are still struggling as they need to balance the moral hazard risk, identify loans that do not add risk to the GSEs or the communities involved and focus on borrowers that will have the best chance to stay current."

MBA Education's four-part Residential Underwriting Basics Webinar series continues April 19 and 26, online. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association's National Secondary Market Conference & Expo 2016 returns May 15-18 at the New York Marriott Marquis.  

MBA Education presents a Webinar, Recent Developments in HECM/Reverse Mortgage Lending Webinar, on Monday, Apr. 18 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET.

MBA Education presents a webinar, Bank-Owned Mortgage Division: What Bankers Need to Know, on Wednesday, Apr. 20 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET.