The Lede

HousingWire, Oct. 26, 2018--Alcynna Lloyd"This strong, above trend growth is being driven by stronger consumer spending--fueled by the incredibly healthy job market and rising wages," said MBA Chief Economist Mike Fratantoni. "Stimulative fiscal policy is also clearly spurring faster expansion, with the third quarter data showing gains in defense spending."

National Mortgage News, Oct. 26, 2018--Paul Centopani (subscription)While the average down payment percentage of purchase price stayed mostly flat, the average dollar amount dropped 10% from the previous quarter, according to LendingTree.

San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, Oct. 26, 2018--Rose MeilyThe California housing market posted its largest annual sales decline since March 2014 in September, as home sales fell below the 400,000-level benchmark for the second consecutive month.

Orange County Register, Oct. 26, 2018--Jeff LazersonMortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are focused on a faster, more convenient loan approvals using automation. Freddie Mac calls its new product the Freddie Edge. Fannie Mae calls it Day 1 Certainty. There are plenty of industry vendors gushing about how their companies are supporting the digital mortgage era.

Bloomberg, Oct. 27, 2018--Alexandre TanziThe median length of time Americans have owned their homes rose to a record of more than eight years in the third quarter, according to ATTOM Data Solutions. That's up from 4.5 years when the recession ended in June 2009.

Mortgage Daily, Oct. 26, 2018The highest-rated home lender for customer satisfaction was--no surprise--Quicken Loans Inc. The Detroit-based company has been ranked as the No. 1 mortgage lender for customer satisfaction by J.D. Power for eight consecutive years.

Mortgage Daily, Oct. 26, 2018As home lenders and investors have recently been a little more relaxed about credit qualifications compared to just after the crisis, mortgage quality has weakened. Still, quality is better than before the crisis, said Moody's Investors Service.

National Mortgage News, Oct. 28, 2018--Hannah Lang (subscription)Michael Bright's nomination to become president of Ginnie Mae has been pending since May and the agency that provides funding for government-insured mortgages has been without a permanent chief for almost two years.

HousingWire, Oct. 26, 2018--Ben LaneDiamond Residential Mortgage Company, which is based in Lake Forest, Illinois and has branches in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, California, and Washington, will pay $1.28 million to consumers who were defrauded by Chris Schaller, who ran the company's Springfield, Illinois branch.