The Lede

GoRion, July 26, 2017--Sam BourgiThe mortgage lending industry is facing one its toughest market environments in years. Amid the apparent slowdown in origination volumes, excessive regulation has triggered a sharp rise in mortgage servicing costs. Once again, lenders are looking for revolutions in FinTech to tackle new cost burdens.

Mortgage Orb, July 26, 2017--Peter G. MillerIt's become increasingly clear that traditional views of employment aren't all they're cracked up to be--especially when it comes time to get a mortgage.

CNBC, July 26, 2017--Diana OlickTotal mortgage application volume rose just 0.4 percent seasonally adjusted compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

National Mortgage Professional, July 26, 2017--Phil HallThe Mortgage Bankers Association is calling on industry professionals to voice their concern over a proposal by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to accommodate borrowers with limited English proficiency by putting the borrower's "preferred language" on the Universal Residential Loan Application.

HousingWire, July 26, 2017--Brena SwansonAccording to the homebuilder's earnings report, it's well positioned for the fourth quarter and to help bring more housing inventory to the market.

Bloomberg, July 26, 2017--Craig TorresFederal Reserve officials said they would begin running off their $4.5 trillion balance sheet "relatively soon" and left their benchmark policy rate unchanged as they assess progress toward their inflation goal.

Reuters, July 26, 2017--David LawderTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday urged Congress to raise the federal debt limit before lawmakers leave Washington for their August recess to avoid higher interest costs to taxpayers and market uncertainty about a potential default.

Mortgage Daily, July 26, 2017With home-lending business coming in more slowly than expected, HomeStreet Inc. has begun reducing its mortgage workforce. Further downsizing could be ahead.

Mortgage Daily, July 26, 2017Changes being made to mortgage insurance premiums at MGIC will result in lower costs for some borrowers and greater choices for others.

Wall Street Journal, July 26, 2017--Asjylyn Loder (subscription)High real estate costs in coastal hubs and a soft investment market are driving workers to more affordable cities inland.

National Mortgage News, July 26, 2017--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)The government-sponsored enterprises transferred $5.5 billion of credit risk on $174 billion of mortgages in their portfolios during the first quarter, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency report.