Category: News and Trends

For homeowners, rising home prices means more home equity. For prospective home buyers, it means finding ways to save more money just to make a down payment.

The Lenders One Cooperative, St. Louis, said an annual poll of its membership shows information security and data protection have become a central concern.

Commercial property market supply and demand fundamentals remained relatively stable in the second quarter, reported Moody’s Investors Service, New York.

House Republicans on Thursday released deals of the largest tax bill since 1986 that reduces the mortgage interest deduction and cuts corporate tax rates.

The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a letter yesterday to the House Ways and Means Committee, expressed concerns that key provisions of tax reform legislation could substantially affect the ability of homeowners and the overall economy to benefit.

The Mortgage Bankers Association and nearly two dozen industry trade groups sent a letter to the House, urging members to support legislation that would allowing title insurance companies to disclose available discounts and accurate title insurance premiums to consumers.

The private-label U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities market should establish a new due diligence working group to drive grading, process and standardization improvements, said Fitch Ratings, New York.

Composite default rates rose for the third consecutive month in September, as the first mortgage default rate rose slightly, reported S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian, New York.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency this week issued its 2016 Report to Congress on Guarantee Fees, noting “competitive pressures” between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac resulted in an average two basis-point drop in average single-family guarantee fees in 2016, from 59 basis points to 57 basis points.

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said a surge in past-due mortgages in Florida and Texas drove a rise in mortgage delinquencies for the first time since 2010.