Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2016–Kirkham, Chris
The average cost for home builders to comply with regulations for new home construction has increased by nearly 30% over the last five years, according to new research from the National Association of Home Builders.
24/7 Wall Street, May 6, 2016–Ausick, Paul
Based on the latest data from CoreLogic’s mortgage fraud risk index, mortgage lenders in the Miami metropolitan area face the highest risk for attempts to commit fraud.
National Mortgage News, May 6, 2016–Passy, Jacob
MountainView Servicing Group in Denver said Friday that it is the exclusive advisor for the sale of a bulk mortgage servicing rights portfolio with Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae loans. The bulk portfolio carries $4.7 billion of unpaid principal balance.
HousingWire, May 9, 2016–Lane, Ben
The benchmark interest rate set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for standard mortgage modifications will drop to its lowest level ever later this week, as the government-sponsored enterprises adjust their standards to match the market’s “historically low” interest rates.
National Mortgage News, May 9, 2016–Sinnock, Bonnie
The Making Home Affordable program has been extended and expanded so many times that it’s gotten hard to imagine life without it. But its two primary initiatives have served their purpose and the days may be numbered for HAMP and HARP.
Bloomberg, May 6, 2016–Molla, Rani
On Aug. 31, major market indices will no longer bundle REITs inside of “financials” as an industry classification. Instead, they will reside in a new category called, surprise, surprise, “real estate.”
HousingWire, Apr. 29, 2016–Finlay, Robert
California continues its effort to pass a law that would require loan servicers to work with successor’s to borrowers on loss mitigation options. The same effort failed last year. The California Mortgage Bankers Association and other industry groups pointed out numerous problems they said would cause harm for borrowers, lenders and the housing market.
National Mortgage News, Apr. 28, 2016–Berry, Kate
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will propose changes in late July to its mortgage disclosure rule to provide “greater certainty and clarity” to the mortgage industry. Pete Mills, a senior vice president of residential policy and member services at the Mortgage Bankers Association, said the changes requested by the industry do not involve policy issues but rather resolving differing interpretations of the rule.
National Mortgage News, Apr. 28, 2016–Sinnock, Bonnie
During the mortgage crisis, servicers recruited people from the origination business to help with loan modifications. Now the two sides of the industry are coming together in a new way.
HousingWire, Apr. 28, 2016–Lane, Ben
Early Thursday morning, Joseph Smith, the monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement, announced that Ocwen Financial was not in compliance with one of the performance metrics of the National Mortgage Settlement and prohibited the nonbank from taking foreclosure actions on more than 17,000 loans. In response, Ocwen noted the holds are not “frozen foreclosures,” but that “Many of these loans have never been referred to foreclosure and never will be.
