Delinquency rates for commercial and multifamily mortgage loans generally declined in the first quarter of 2013, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report. During the first quarter of 2013, the 60+ day delinquency rate for commercial and multifamily mortgages held in life company portfolios increased 0.01 percentage points to 0.09 percent. The 60+ day delinquency rate for multifamily loans held or insured by Freddie Mac decreased 0.03 percentage points to 0.16 percent.Click to continue

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is currently 3.87 percent, up sixteen basis points from 3.71 percent at this time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate hovered between 3.75 and 3.86 percent for the majority of the week before rising to the current rate this morning.

“Rates stayed near 12 month highs, reflecting expectations for a winding down of Fed stimulus,” said Erin Lantz, director of Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. “This week, we expect rates to remain at these levels unless Friday's jobs report delivers unexpected news.”Click to continue

CoreLogic released its April CoreLogic HPI report. Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 12.1 percent on a year-over-year basis in April 2013 compared to April 2012. This change represents the biggest year-over-year increase since February 2006 and the 14th consecutive monthly increase in home prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 3.2 percent in April 2013 compared to March 2013.Click to continue

The Credit Managers’ Index (CMI) from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) for May leapt over two percentage points, from 53.3 to 55.6, to reach a level not recorded since August 2012. The improvement becomes more convincing upon review of the data, and is supported by better consumer confidence numbers and the general enthusiasm greeting the latest housing data.Click to continue

New-home production and remodeling contribute billions of dollars to the nation's economy each year and with the right policies in place housing can serve as a catalyst to boost job and economic growth, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told Congress.Click to continue

Attorney General Eric T. Schneider­­man has filed a lawsuit against HSBC Bank USA and HSBC Mortgage Corporation (USA) for failing to follow state law related to foreclosure actions, putting homeowners at greater risk of losing their homes. Under state law, residential mortgage lenders, servicers and their agents who sue to foreclose on a homeowner are required to file a “Request for Judicial Intervention” (RJI) when they file their proof of service with the county clerk. The process mandates that the lender then attend a settlement conference within 60 days.Click to continue

The Trepp CMBS delinquency rate inched up modestly in May, one month after posting its lowest reading in more than two years. The four basis point increase comes on the heels of a 47 basis point drop in April, which was also the biggest one month dip since Trepp began publishing the number in the fall of 2009. The delinquency rate for US commercial real estate loans in CMBS was 9.07 percent at the end of May. The resolution of distressed CMBS loans was a major factor in driving the delinquency rate lower over the past few months.Click to continue

National data show interest rates on mortgages are stable at low levels. Contract mortgage interest rates increased slightly in April—up 0.02 percent from March, according to an index of new mortgage contracts. According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the National Average Contract Mortgage Rate for the Purchase of Previously Occupied Homes by Combined Lenders index was 3.56 percent for loans closed in late April. The index is calculated using FHFA’s Monthly Interest Rate Survey.Click to continue

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released "A Secondary Market that Works for Smaller Lenders," a concept paper suggesting that any reform to the secondary market must provide smaller lenders with equal access and execution opportunities, while also containing an explicit federal guarantee for certain mortgage-backed securities (MBS). MBA’s concept paper is the third piece of a five-part plan which recommends immediate steps the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) can take to ease the transition as policymakers debate the future of the government role in housing financeClick to continue

The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), inched down two points to an index level of 52. It is the fifth straight quarter with a reading over 50. The MPI measures builder and developer sentiment about current conditions in the apartment and condominium market on a scale of 0 to 100. The index and all of its components are scaled so that any number over 50 indicates that more respondents report conditions are improving than report conditions are getting worse.Click to continue