Category: News and Trends

It’s 2018. Is this the year the mortgage industry finally bridges the Digital Divide? According to J.D. Power, Westlake Village, Calif., the answer is, not quite but it’s getting there.

More than 207,000 U.S. single-family homes and condos flipped in 2017, the highest level since 2006, said ATTOM Data Solutions, Irvine, Calif.

Ahead of debate this week on a Senate bill aimed at providing broad regulatory relief, the Mortgage Bankers Association’s grassroots advocacy arm, the Mortgage Action Alliance, issued a Call to Action urging its members to contact their senators to support the bill.

The commercial mortgage-backed securities delinquency rate dropped again in February, marking the eighth consecutive month of improvement, reported Trepp, New York.

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said homes in the lowest-priced tiers have seen greatest price appreciation, putting pressure on lower-income buyers as affordability tightens.

First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., said its monthly Loan Application Defect Index held steady in January, but was nearly 14 percent higher than a year ago.

Since 2000, homeownership has declined in a vast majority of America’s biggest cities, said Trulia, San Francisco.

The Federal Housing Administration yesterday announced an extension of its 180-day foreclosure moratorium for FHA-insured homeowners for an additional 60 days due to the extensive damage and continuing needs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Homeownership Collaborative, a coalition of real estate trade associations and nonprofit housing counseling providers, yesterday released its first report on steps that can be taken to increase use of homeownership education and housing counseling services available nationwide.

Home equity has surpassed the previous peak of $13.4 trillion from first quarter 2006 during the past year, recovering from the great price correction that more than halved home equity positions.