The Lede

First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., said its May Loan Application Defect Index fell by 5.5 percent from April, the second consecutive monthly decline.

Fitch Ratings, New York, issued a report saying although alternative document residential mortgage loan products introduced in the US after the financial crisis have performed better than expectations, it maintain a cautious approach to these loans because of their limited history.

Black Knight, Jacksonville, Fla., said lower interest rates and the spring home buying seasons have led to overall prepayment activity more than doubling over the past four months to the highest level seen since late 2016.

The fastest-growing cities in the United States saw substantial declines in affordable housing units between 2010 and 2017, said Freddie Mac, McLean, Va.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday extended the comment period on its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking relating to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act.

President Trump yesterday signed an Executive Order establishing the White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing, and named HUD Secretary Ben Carson as its chair.

The Harvard University Joint Center for Housing Studies' State of the Nation's Housing report said overall rents rose at a 3.6 percent annual rate in early 2019, twice the pace of overall inflation.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's annual Condominium Workshop takes place Thursday, July 18 at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.

National Mortgage News, July 1, 2019--Elina Tarkazikis (subscription)In a joint letter to New York Department of Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell, the Mortgage Bankers Association and New York Mortgage Bankers Association highlighted discrepancies in DFS' suggested changes to 3 NYCRR 419, which covers business conduct rules for servicing mortgage loans.

Bloomberg, July 1, 2019--Chrisopher MaloneyA massive wave of homeowners now has an incentive to refinance their mortgages and they could find the process faster than it's been in recent memory thanks to technology improvements.

American Banker, July 1, 2019--Ken McCarthy (subscription)The $10.1 billion-asset Customers disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday that it could record a $7 million to $8 million charge after an unnamed commercial mortgage warehouse client shut down in May.

Wall Street Journal, June 28--Josh Mitchell (subscription)The report issued Friday by the Council of Economic Advisers looked in isolation at 20 rules in the Trump administration's broader economic agenda, which has also included new tariffs that economists and industries say have driven up some consumer prices.

American Banker, June 30, 2019--John Heltman (subscription)Russ Golden, chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, is defending the board's decision to require all publicly traded firms to proactively report and set aside reserves for credit losses, saying the move would make the financial system safer and is worth the cost.

USA Today, June 27, 2019--Grant SunesonJust as home prices vary from state to state, so does the average mortgage debt.

American Banker, June 27, 2019--John Heltman, John Reosti (subscription)The Financial Accounting Standards Board is considering whether to consolidate or delay the deadlines for smaller firms to comply with a contentious new credit loss accounting standard, according to the association's chairman.

Forbes, June 27, 2019--Francisco AlvaradoAccording to real estate research firm Attom Data Solutions, 7.2 % of all U.S. home sales during Q1 2019 were flipped homes, the highest rate in nearly a decade. But it's a cottage industry ripe for mortgage fraud that only gets exposed when an investment goes south, legal experts say.

HousingWire, June 27, 2019--Jessica GuerinThe latest report from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency showed an improvement in the performance of first-lien mortgages in the federal banking system during the first quarter.

Bloomberg, June 27, 2019--Saleha MohsinThe White House is developing a plan to cut taxes by indexing capital gains to inflation, sources said, in a move that would largely benefit the wealthy and may be done in a way that bypasses Congress.

HousingWire, June 26, 2019--Jessica GuerinThe Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act allows homebuyers to borrow above the 2019 limit of $484,350 for most counties without any down payment.

Bloomberg, June 26, 2019--Adam TempkinCerberus Capital Management has sold a kind of mortgage bond that hasn't been seen since the financial crisis. Not many financial companies are seen following in its footsteps.

Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2019--Andrew Ackerman, Ben Eisen (subscription)Investor anxiety about a Trump administration push to overhaul housing finance is showing up in prices in the market for mortgage-backed securities.