The Lede

First American Financial Corp., Santa Ana, Calif., said its monthly Loan Application Defect Index fell by 3.9 percent in August from July and by 5.2 percent from a year ago.

Redfin, Seattle, said people who bought a home at the bottom of the market in 2012 have earned a median $141,000, or 261%, in home equity since then.

Fitch Ratings, New York, said high debt-to-income loans no longer eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are likely to have higher loss levels if the loans also have high loan-to-values.

Most Americans prefer a mortgage payment to paying rent monthly, said Bank of America, Charlotte, N.C., in its yearly Homebuyer Insights Report.

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said U.S. homeowners with mortgages saw their equity increase by 4.8% year over year, representing a gain of nearly $428 billion from a year ago.

Ellie Mae, Pleasanton, Calif., said drops in 30-year interest rates for the eighth consecutive month drove up the percentage of refinances in August.

The Mortgage Bankers Association's Accounting & Financial Management Conference takes place Nov. 19-21 at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina.

MBA Education presents a half-day workshop, Fundamentals and Best Practices in Mortgage Accounting, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina on Tuesday, Nov. 19 in conjunction with the MBA Accounting and Financial Management Conference.

MBA Education presents Foundational Elements of Mortgage Servicing Rights Workshop, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina on Tuesday, Nov. 19 in conjunction with the MBA Accounting and Financial Management Conference.

Beginning October 1, all MBA member companies in good standing will have more MBA benefits to celebrate, including complimentary access to all online education webinars and webinar recordings.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 30, 2019-Hannah Lang (subscription)Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be permitted to retain a combined $45 billion worth of earnings, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Monday, after holding only small capital cushions of $3 billion each for seven years.

HousingWire, Oct. 1, 2019--Kelsey RamirezMortgage lenders are increasingly entering the non-qualified mortgage market, but does this mean we are going back to the old subprime days? The short answer: no. (MBA mention)

National Mortgage Professional, Sept. 30, 2019--Phil HallPresident Trump has signed a continuing resolution that extends the National Flood Insurance Program until Nov 21.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 30, 2019--Paul Centopani (subscription)As the affordable housing crisis comes to a head, the Mortgage Bankers Association put up opposition to the "not in my backyard" mindset by getting behind the Yes, In My Backyard bill introduced by the House.

American Banker, Sept. 26, 2019--Neil Haggerty (subscription)A House hearing on the future of regulating debt collectors showcased a sharp divide between Democrats and Republicans over a pending proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

HousingWire, Sept. 26, 2019--Ben LaneDitech Holding is one giant step closer to selling off its forward and reverse mortgage businesses after a federal bankruptcy court judge approved the company's plan to sell to New Residential Investment and Mortgage Assets Management.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 26, 2019--Bonnie Sinnock (subscription)The Federal Housing Administration should more closely monitor reverse mortgage servicers and track related data that would shed light on a rise in defaults, according to a Government Accountability Office report.

Forbes, Sept. 25, 2019--Brenda RichardsonAfter steadily increasing since late 2016, mortgage fraud risk plummeted by the end of the second quarter of 2019 thanks to lower interest rates that ushered in an influx of low-risk refinance transactions, according to a new report by data and analytics provider CoreLogic. The market also benefited from homes being bought by iBuyers.

Wall Street Journal, Sept. 25, 2015--Daniel Kruger (subscription)The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Wednesday it would increase the size of scheduled operations to provide short-term cash loans to financial firms.

HousingWire, Sept. 25, 2019--Kelsey RamirezHigh loan-to-value loans could drive losses in residential mortgage backed securities as the Qualified Mortgage Patch expires, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings.

National Mortgage News, Sept. 24, 2019--Brad Finkelstein (subscription)Commercial and multifamily mortgage delinquency rates should stay at historically low levels in the near future even as economic uncertainty over trade affects U.S. businesses, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

American Banker, Sept. 24, 2019--Hannah Lang (subscription)The effects of that rule, which requires lenders to verify borrowers' ability to repay and provides legal protection for "qualified mortgages" with low debt-to-income ratios, so far has been limited, because of the GSE "patch." (MBA mention)

National Mortgage News, Sept. 24, 2019--Andy Peters (subscription)Banks have been ceding market share in home lending to nonbank lenders for years, but that could change under a Treasury Department proposal to remove Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from conservatorship.

The Mortgage Reports, Sept. 24, 2019--Aly J. YaleHome prices might be up, but American mortgage payments are actually falling. In fact, according to new data, the average monthly mortgage payment has dipped over 6 percent in just the last year.