The Lede

Reuters, June 20, 2018--Richard LeongU.S. mortgage applications increased the most last week in more than five months, as some 30-year home loan borrowing costs held steady or fell from the prior week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Washington Post, June 20, 2018--Michele LernerLooser mortgage qualifying guidelines by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over the past few years are beginning to have an impact on mortgage loan applications this year, said CoreLogic.

National Mortgage News, June 20, 2018--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)The jury's still out on whether bank account data is a viable alternative to the tedious process of contacting employers to verify a mortgage applicant's job status. But there's already hope that the same data could replace the even more nettlesome task of Internal Revenue Service income verifications.

Mortgage Daily, June 20, 2018As the share of conventional business has grown at the expense of government-insured business over the past year, lending risk tightened and refinance share fell to a new low, said Ellie Mae.

Mortgage Daily, June 20, 2018Mortgage servicing rights are being offered on 39,253 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac single-family loans with a collective unpaid principal balance of $10.349 billion as of May 31.

HousingWire, June 20, 2018--Ben LaneThe groups tell the CFPB that the multifamily housing industry experiences "unwarranted regulatory burdens and privacy issues" due to the "unnecessary application" of HMDA reporting requirements on multifamily lending.

National Mortgage Professional, June 20, 2018--Phil HalThe first mortgage default rate declined by two basis points from 0.68 percent in April to 0.66 percent in May, according to the latest data from S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.

National Mortgage News, June 20, 2018--Hannah Long (subscription)HUD launched a process to amend its use of the "disparate impact" standard in fair lending rules. The legal standard, which can be used to punish lenders for discriminatory effects even if none were intended, has long been unpopular with banks.

Bloomberg, June 21, 2018--Alexandre Tanzi (subscription)The American dream continues to fade for many people. Housing affordability dropped this quarter to the lowest since late 2008, according to data released this month by the National Association of Realtors.

Reuters, June 21, 2018--Sinead CarewU.S. investors expect banks and other financial institutions to announce large returns of capital to shareholders after the Federal Reserve publishes the first set of results from its annual "stress test" late Thursday.

National Real Estate Investor, June 20, 2018--Beth Mattson-TeigPension funds still have a healthy appetite for commercial real estate, with firms raising allocations even as industry returns decline.