Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
House values continue to rise, with some home price indices solidly in record territory. But escalating values reflect a persistent inventory shortage.
As of June, the Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index landed at 192.60. That was the seventh month in a row the index reached a new high.
The Case-Shiller U.S. 20-City Composite Home Price Index came in at 200.54. The index increased 0.7 percent from May and jumped 5.7 percent from June 2016.
From:: Financing
All around the mortgage industry, primary and secondary lenders are coming to the aid of borrowers impacted by the severe devastation from Hurricane Harvey.
Images of people wading and boating through the flooded streets of Houston — the nation’s fourth-largest city — have dominated the news cycle since Harvey made landfall on Friday as a Category 4 hurricane.
So far, death toll estimates are as high as 15 people as a result of the hurricane. Rainfall from Harvey, which has stalled over the Houston area, can be measured in feet. The Los Angeles Times reports that around 30,000 people are in shelters.
From:: Financing
As one mortgage firm replaces its chief executive officer, another organization recruited a new chief information officer, and two more hired new chief marketing officers.
On Aug. 16, Pacific Union Financial LLC disclosed that its president and CEO, Rick Skogg, will retire at the end of this year to spend more time with his family.
Replacing Skogg, who took the helm in 2012, will be Evan Michael Stone, who is the owner and chairman of the Irving, Texas-based company. Stone founded Pacific Union in 2004.
From:: Financing
More than 65 mortgage-related conferences, workshops and other events are on Mortgage Daily’s Mortgage Conference Calendar through the end of this year.
On Sept. 7, the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association will hold its 18th Annual Reverse Mortgage Day at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas. Around 110 people are expected to attend the event, which costs $209.
The event is designed to give lending professionals, bank executives and academic researchers important information about the policies that will affect reverse mortgage lending in the future.
From:: Financing
Following a lawsuit filed by a former employee over the loss of health insurance coverage for her and her spouse, the chairman of a Colorado-based mortgage banker is out.
Cherry Creek Mortgage Co. and UnitedHealthcare were named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Judith Dominguez, a former employee in California.
The lawsuit alleges that Dominguez and her spouse, who were enrolled in the Greenwood Village, Colorado-based firm’s health insurance plan in 2016, were denied re-enrollment at the end of the year.
From:: Financing
Taxpayer funds that were intended to support distressed borrowers in areas that suffered the most from the housing crisis have, in some cases, been used for frivolous purposes by state housing agencies.
The Hardest Hit Fund was established in 2010 by the Obama administration to assist distressed borrowers on loans secured by properties in communities suffering the most from the housing crisis.
The program, initially funded with $1.5 billion in capital, was paid for through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which was created through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.
From:: Financing
New home-lending activity turned solidly higher this past week, and it was government mortgage programs that saw the biggest week-over-week gain.
An indication of upcoming single-family loan originations, the U.S. Mortgage Market Index from Mortgage Daily, was 160 in the week ended Aug. 25.
The index, which is based on rate-lock volume at OpenClose, increased 9 percent from the preceding seven-day period. No seasonal adjustments are made to the numbers.
From:: Financing
An established retail home lender operating from New York state has launched a wholesale division to do business with mortgage brokers.
Jet Direct Mortgage, which is based in Bay Shore, New York, bills itself as a full-service direct lender that provides a wide range of loan products and services.
Jet Direct reports that it is licensed to do business in 11 states including the Empire State. Most of the states are in the eastern half of the country.
From:: Financing
A mortgage banking firm that denied health insurance coverage to the same-sex spouse of a former female employee because of its religious values is facing a lawsuit.
Judith Dominguez was a California employee of Greenwood Village, Colorado-based Cherry Creek Mortgage Co. who legally married Patricia Martinez in 2013.
While the couple was enrolled in Cherry Creek’s health insurance plan in 2016, they were denied re-enrollment at the end of the year because they lacked a legal union between a man and a woman.
From:: Financing
Overall mortgage delinquency fell to the lowest level in 17 years, while the rate of foreclosures has descended to the lowest level in a decade.
As of mid-2017, residential loans that were at least 30 days late or in the foreclosure inventory accounted for 5.53 percent of all such mortgages outstanding.
The non-current rate tumbled compared to three months earlier, when it was 6.10 percent. The improvement was far more significant versus 6.30 percent one year earlier.
From:: Financing