RealtyTrac, Irvine, Calif., reported foreclosure filings on 1.083 million U.S. properties in 2015, a 3 percent drop from 2014 and a 62 percent decline from their 2010 peak.
Category: News and Trends

CMBS Issuance Up, Underwriting Deteriorates
Non-agency commercial mortgage-backed securities issuance totaled $94.59 billion in 2015, up 6.3 percent compared to 2014, reported Wells Fargo Securities, Charlotte, N.C.

Q/A with Chuck Rumfola of Veros
MBA NewsLink recently posed questions to Chuck Rumfola, senior vice president of strategic initiatives with Veros Real Estate Solutions, Santa Ana, Calif.

Black Knight: 5.2 Million Could Benefit from Refinancing
With mortgage rates all but certain to creep up this year following the Federal Reserve’s decision to boost key interest rates, Black Knight Financial Services, Jacksonville, Fla., said the refinance window that’s been open for years could start to close.

Fitch: 2016 Home Improvement Spending Projects 4% Increase
Fitch Ratings, New York, said home improvement spending is in line for another steady increase this year.

Black Knight: Foreclosure Starts Hit 9-Year Low
Black Knight Financial Services, Jacksonville, Fla., said its First Look Mortgage Monitor showed foreclosure starts hit a nine-year low in November with fewer than 700,000 active foreclosures remaining in the pipeline.

Q&A with Mark McElroy of Pavaso
MBA NewsLink recently posed questions to Mark McElroy, president and CEO of Pavaso, Plano, Texas, a provider of services for closings and the rest of the homeownership life cycle.

MBA Issues Statement on Passage of Year-End Spending Bill
Bill Emerson, chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association and CEO of Quicken Loans Inc., Detroit, issued the following statement regarding inclusion of the Jumpstart GSE reform provision within a $1.1 trillion year-end spending bill passed by Congress, which would prevent the administration from selling off its stake in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac without congressional approval.

FHFA: GSE Foreclosure Prevention Actions Near 3.6 Million
The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac completed 54,744 foreclosure prevention actions in the third quarter, bringing total foreclosure prevention actions to just under 3.6 million since the start of the conservatorships in September 2008.

MBA Chart of the Week: Net Change in Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Debt Outstanding
Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding continued to climb in the third quarter, driven by increases in the dollar amount of loans held in bank portfolios according to MBA’s Commercial/Multifamily Real Estate Mortgage Debt Outstanding report.