The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending Aug. 27, 2010. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, increased 2.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 2.3 percent compared with the previous week. The Refinance Index increased 2.8 percent from the previous week and is at its highest level since May 1, 2009. The seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased 1.8 percent from one week earlier.Read more

I want to begin by saying that I support all channels of loan origination if they are operated with integrity and are ethically compliant. To say our industry has gone through change is a severe understatement. While these changes have made a quick impact on how we operate, it’s not over yet. More changes are coming, and in the next several days, we will have an idea on how the final draft of this new bill will impact our business on all channels as financial reform will happen in one way or another. Is that bad? Depends on who you ask …Read more

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has announced that it intends to make modifications to its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) product, a reverse mortgage loan insured by the federal government, to make it more attractive and cost-effective for older home owners seeking to tap their home equity to cover living expenses and healthcare costs, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association (NRMLA).Read more

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its first Conservator’s Report on the Enterprises’ Financial Condition. The Conservator’s Report provides an overview of key aspects of the financial condition of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government-sponsored enterprises) during conservatorship. The report will be released on a quarterly basis following the filing of the Enterprises’ financial results with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).Read more

Mortgage servicers more often miss on delivering key service practices during the loan modification process than during the loan origination process, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study. The 2010 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study is based on responses from 4,516 homeowners regarding their experiences with their primary mortgage servicer and was fielded May through June 2010.Read more

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have released the August edition of the Obama Administration’s Housing Scorecard, a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. In July, housing prices remained level after 30 straight months of decline, while some price predictions have improved. In addition, historic low interest rates continued to promote home affordability and refinancing options for the nation’s families.Read more

The nation's homeowners paid a median of $1,000 in monthly housing costs in 2009, compared with $808 for renters, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). However, renters usually paid a higher percentage of their household income on these costs than did owners (31 percent compared with 20 percent). These new figures come from the 2009 American Housing Survey, the definitive source of information on the quality of housing in the United States.Read more

Communities that are currently struggling from the effects of fraudulent mortgage transactions may still be suffering years from now, according to research released by Interthinx. In its quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report, Interthinx notes that six of the 10 riskiest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the nation were in the top 10 just a year ago, and all 10 of the MSAs that were at the top of the list for fraud last year are still in the top 20 today.Read more

TransUnion's quarterly analysis of trends in the mortgage industry found that national mortgage loan delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due) decreased again in the second quarter of 2010, suggesting that the credit conditions in the housing sector have now begun to stabilize. However, the delinquency rate only dropped to 6.67 percent—a level marginally lower than in the first quarter of this year.Read more

The Obama Administration has announced additional support to help homeowners struggling with unemployment through two targeted foreclosure-prevention programs. Through the existing Housing Finance Agency (HFA) Innovation Fund for the Hardest Hit Housing Markets (the Hardest Hit Fund), the U.S. Department of the Treasury will make $2 billion of additional assistance available for HFA programs for homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments due to unemployment. Additionally, the U.S.Read more