The Lede

Washington Post, Apr. 12, 2018--Kathy OrtonMortgage rates have settled in, undeterred by conflicting economic data, global political and economic concerns, and recent Federal Reserve signals. (MBA mention)

24/7 Wall Street, Apr. 12, 2018--Paul AusickAccording to the Mortgage Bankers Association report for the week ending April 6, home refinancing applications fell 2% week over week to 38.4% of all new mortgage loan applications. That's the lowest percentage for home refinance applications since September 2008 and about half the peak rate of just a few years ago.

Mortgage News Daily, Apr. 12, 2018--Jann SwansonThe Mortgage Bankers Association is predicting a strong increase in new home sales in March. Its Builder Application Survey, conducted with mortgage subsidiaries of new home builders, found applications for new home purchase mortgages were up 14 percent from February.

CNBC, Apr. 12, 2018--Diana Olick Subprime mortgages--home loans to borrowers with sketchy credit who put little to no skin in the game. Following the epic housing crash, they disappeared, due to strong, new regulation, and zero demand from investors who were badly burned. Barely a decade later, they're coming back with a new name--nonprime--and, so far, some new standards.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 12, 2018--Lalita Clozel (subscription)An appeals court appeared skeptical Thursday that the interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could independently run the bureau given his other role as head of the White House's Office of Management and Budget.

HousingWire, Apr. 12, 2018--Kelsey RamirezCoreLogic, a property information, analytics and data-enabled services provider, announced Thursday that it acquired a la mode technologies.

Bloomberg, Apr. 12, 2018--Patrick Clark, Noah BuhayarThe housing crunch in many West Coast cities has revived interest in an old idea: the granny flat. Often called "accessory dwelling units," or ADUs, the free-standing structures can be manufactured off-site and plunked in a backyard for about $150,000, including permits and site work.

CBS News, Apr. 12, 2018Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren grilled Office of Budget and Management Director Mick Mulvaney on Thursday over his numerous votes to abolish the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

American Banker, Apr. 12, 2018--Paul Davis (subscription)The $20 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing Thursday that the decision was based on recent economic changes, heavy competition, "very low" margins and input from shareholders.

Mortgage Daily, Apr. 12, 2018The digital transformation of the mortgage process is being led by large non-bank lenders. Title and mortgage insurers could be the biggest beneficiaries of blockchain adoption.

Philadelphia Inquirer, Apr. 12, 2018--Joseph N. DiStefanoJPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon has called for adding 400 U.S. branches in a bid to put his company's large and rising profits to work finding new customers, following the windfall of last year's federal income tax cuts passed by Congress and signed by President Trump.

National Mortgage News, Apr. 12, 2018--Jeremy Sicklick (subscription)The author, CEO of HouseCanary, says more and better data will also mean more and better loans, as valuations become more accurate and faster appraisals send earlier alerts to lenders and buyers about any potential loan issues. But this trend will also mean lower rates.

Wall Street Journal, Apr. 12, 2018--Laura Kusisto, Rolfe Winkler (subscription)Real-estate listings company Zillow Group is getting into the business of buying and flipping homes, a risky and untested business model for the online service that could disrupt the traditional brokerage business.

Urban Institute, Apr. 12, 2018The Urban Insitute's latest credit availability index shows that mortgage credit availability rose, for the second quarter in a row, from 5.6 to 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter, the highest level since 2013.

MBA Education offers a two-part webinar series, Credit Scores in Loan Origination, on Tuesday, Apr. 24 (Part I) and Thursday, May 3 (Part II) from 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET.

The Mortgage Bankers Association' National Secondary Market Conference & Expo returns to the Marriott Marquis in New York May 20-23.