Tag: finance

Fixed rates on residential loans fell to their lowest level in 10 weeks, and the outlook for the next report is for mortgage rates to linger where they are now.

Thirty-year fixed interest rates on conventional mortgages utilized to finance a home purchase with conforming loan amounts averaged 3.74 percent in August.

Long-term rates on residential loans declined from the prior month’s 3.80 percent and have moved lower each month since they were 4.23 percent in January.

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From:: Financing

A lack of inventory drove down pending home sales for the third time in four months to the lowest level in seven months.

After making adjustments for seasonal factors, the Pending Home Sales Index came in at 108.5 for the month of August.

The index, a forward-looking indicator based of contract signings fell from the downwardly revised 111.2 the prior month.

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From:: Financing

Web-based services have been launched and improved to help mortgage companies comply with a host of regulations. Meanwhile, one mortgage service provider has partnered with another to help home lenders survive an examination.

Weiner Brodsky Kider PC announced on Sept. 19 that its program to to help originators and servicers prepare for Consumer Financial Protection Bureau examinations has been enhanced through a partnership with Newbold Advisors LLC.

The Washington-based company says its examination readiness program simulates CFPB examinations to measure companies’ ability to detect, prevent and correct practices that may violate CFPB-governed statutes and regulations.

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From:: Financing

It has been more than three years since monthly business was as strong as it was last month at the Freddie Mac, while delinquency fell to a new eight-year low.

Purchases and issuances at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. were $45.882 billion last month, according to its Monthly Volume Summary: August 2016.

Monthly volume at the McLean, Virginia-based organization has not been this high since June 2013, when secondary mortgage activity totaled $48.388 billion.

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From:: Financing

A range of mortgage service providers have integrated their offerings into several loan origination systems. The integrations promise to make access to the products easier.

Stratmor Group reported in its STRATMOR Insights newsletter that cost per loan doubled between 2005 and 2015, while productivity was cut in half during the same period.

Cost per loan was up 150 percent for retail lending, 166 percent on consumer-direct originations, 202 percent for broker lending and 82 percent on correspondent lending.

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From:: Financing

Walter Investment Management Corp.’s mortgage banking subsidiary has agreed to settle charges that it harassed delinquent Massachusetts borrowers for four years.

In August 2015, Ditech Financial Services LLC became the successor company to Green Tree Servicing LLC, which handled mortgage servicing in Massachusetts.

The state’s attorney general limits the number of telephone calls a creditor can initiate to two within a seven- or 30-day period depending on the type of phone number.

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From:: Financing

Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to settle another lawsuit over its role in saddling corporate credit unions with faulty mortgage securities.

U.S. Central Federal Credit Union and Western Corporate Federal Credit Union were two corporate credit unions that collapsed in 2009.

Among the factors that contributed to their failures were investments in toxic mortgage-backed securities – including MBS marketed by RBS.

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From:: Financing

A modest rise in applications for home-purchase financing was more than offset by small decline in applications to refinance home loans.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Market Composite Index for the week ended Sept. 23 slipped less than 1 percent from a week earlier.

Even without making any adjustments for seasonal factors, the index still moved down 1 percent compared to the previous week’s report.

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From:: Financing

Among dozens of upcoming mortgage-related happenings over the next several months are four events hosted by providers of loan origination systems.

From Oct. 3 through Oct. 5, the 2016 Mortgage Builder User Conference is taking place in New Orleans at the Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans.

The LOS provider is charging $750 to register for the conference if the purchase is completed by Sept. 30. After that date, the cost to attend is $850.

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From:: Financing

The late-payment rate on securitized commercial real estate loans dipped, with office building loans improving most. Maturing loans continue to be a concern.

Delinquency of at least 30 days, including foreclosures, on loans that are part of commercial mortgage-backed securities landed at 2.95 percent in August.

Last month’s past-due rate on securitized CRE loans was 1 basis point less than in July, when the delinquency had worsened by 10 BPS from a month earlier.

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From:: Financing