Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
While it may be small, mortgage applications ticked up 2.9% from one week earlier. Most notably in the latest Mortgage Bankers Association’s report, the average contract interest rate for 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances dropped to the lowest level since July 2016. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Several executives recently appointed at home-lending firms are mid-level managers who oversee various origination channels at a number of different locations.
On Tuesday, Castle & Cooke Mortgage LLC reported that it brought on Glenn Hodge as a regional manager to oversee an expansion in the Midwest and East.
Hodge’s three decades in the mortgage business include time at Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp., Washington Mutual Inc. and Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
From:: Financing
It only took a little more than six months for Bank of America Merrill Lynch to decide to pull the rest of its mortgage servicing business from PHH Mortgage Corp., marking another devastating blow for the company. Effective March 31, 2017, PHH will no longer provide private label origination services on behalf of Merrill Lynch. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Compared to a month earlier, the volume of federally insured reverse mortgages was lower. There was also a decline from a year earlier.
Originators of home-equity conversion mortgages generated 3,741 endorsements by the Federal Housing Administration during September.
The volume of HECM production tumbled compared with the previous month, when there were 4,387 HECMs that were endorsed by FHA.
From:: Financing
Acacia Communications Inc. shares rallied in the extended session Tuesday after the optical-networking products company forecast higher earnings than it had originally estimated. Acacia shares surged 8% to $110.18 after hours. The company said it expects adjusted third-quarter earnings of 83 cents to 90 cents a share, following an original forecast of 64 cents to 76 cents a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 74 cents a share. Separately, Acacia said it plans a follow-on offering of 4.5 million shares, 1.2 million of which will be sold by the company. Shares of Acacia made their public market debut in May. Optical-networking stocks have been a tear since last quarter.
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From:: Stock Market News
The Royal Bank of Scotland will pay $120 million to settle claims brought by the state of Connecticut, which accused RBS of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages backing residential mortgage-backed securities during the run-up to the financial crisis. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
The National Association of Realtors and other experts predict home sales will continue to increase into 2017. While home sales may increase, NAR explains that housing inventory may continue to cause affordability problems. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Oil futures climbed in electronic trading Tuesday from their settlement after the American Petroleum Institute reported a 7.6 million-barrel drop in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended Sept. 30, according to sources. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a 2 million-barrel increase in stockpiles. “Demand is rising,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. “We are seeing the U.S. market get in balance a lot quicker than anyone thought.” The closely watched Energy Information Administration report will be released Wednesday. November crude was at $49.15 a barrel in electronic trading, up from the contract’s settlement of $48.69 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
The Mortgage Bankers Association of the Carolinas is postponing its annual convention due to Hurricane Matthew, which is quickly approaching the United States. The hurricane is projected to make landfall in Florida on Thursday and move north up the Eastern seaboard from there. For more information, click the headline. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
After losing a chunk of outsourcing business earlier this year from its largest client, PHH Corp.’s operating subsidiary will lose the rest of the client’s business.
In April, Merrill Lynch Home Loans advised PHH Mortgage Corp. that it planned to handle new applications and originations for some products in-house.
Merrill Lynch, a subsidiary of Bank of America, N.A., additionally indicated that it had significantly reduced its volume forecast for the remainder of this year.
From:: Financing