For those interested in perp walks surrounding the mortgage crisis, add another exhibit: a former top executive at Credit Suisse (CS) was sentenced last week to over two years in prison for inflating the value of mortgage bonds. …read more

The American consumer may still be hobbled, but investors are helping to prop up the U.S. housing market — and many of the retail investors buying homes in California are from Asia. …read more

Looking to invest in the U.S. housing economy? There’s the HW 30 index, always worth taking a look at. But individual equities bear a look, too — and Portfolio Grader highlighted three mortgage equities yesterday worth buying. …read more

As Congress slowly debates the future of housing finance, a group of House Republicans led by Justin Amash (R-MI) has proposed taking the government out of lending altogether using a 5-year phased plan. A one page document summarizing H.R. 3550, The New Fair Deal Banking and Housing Stability Act of 2013, has been making the […]

Home prices continued their tepid pace higher in the third quarter of 2013 and grew 3.2% and 11.2% over the last four quarters, the strongest figure since the boom peaked in 2006. …read more

Fifth Third Bancorp said it will pay Freddie Mac $25 million to resolve claims that the lender is required to buy back soured mortgages that it sold off to the government-sponsored enterprises. …read more

Mortgage applications edged down a bit this past week, falling a slight 0.3%, an industry trade group reported. Refinance activity alone picked up, with refis now making up 66% of all mortgage activity. …read more

Foreclosure auction sales, REO sales increaseCentral Valley Business TimesDespite the nationwide increase, home sales continued to decrease on an annual basis for the third consecutive month in three bellwether western states: California (down 15 from a year ago), Arizona (down 13 percent), and Nevada (down 5 percent). REO … and more …read more

Foreclosure Auction Sales and Bank-Owned Sales Increase From Year Ago in …SYS-CON Media (press release)Despite the nationwide increase, home sales continued to decrease on an annual basis for the third consecutive month in three bellwether western states: California (down 15 from a year ago), Arizona (down 13 percent), and Nevada (down 5 percent … and […]

Foreclosure Auction Sales and Bank-Owned Sales Increase From Year Ago in …DigitalJournal.comDespite the nationwide increase, home sales continued to decrease on an annual basis for the third consecutive month in three bellwether western states: California (down 15 from a year ago), Arizona (down 13 percent), and Nevada (down 5 percent). The … and more …read […]

Residential property sales continued to climb as homes sold at an estimated annualized pace of 5.69 million in October, a 13% rise from year ago levels. …read more

In January’s issue of HW Magazine, we’re taking a look at the state of the GSEs as 2014 gets underway, and we want to know: what do you think? Will 2014 be a year of reform, abolishment, nothing — or something else entirely? Let us know by filling out a brief comment. …read more

Another firm enters the single-family rental securitization market as interest in the sector gains steam nationwide . …read more

MCS Mortgage Bankers announced the opening of seven retail branches scattered across Ohio and New Jersey. …read more

Interactive Mortgage Advisors is overseeing the sale of $5.4 billion in mortgage servicing rights tied to Fannie Mae loans, following a recent string of companies selling their MSRs. …read more

Investigations run by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program prove that no matter how small a bank — or a bank employee is — they are not safe from criminal prosecution if TARP-related bailout funds are misused in any shape or form. These probes can run very deep. …read more

Interest rate reductions outpace principal cram-downs across the country, but when it comes to the re-default recidivism rate, principal reductions take the cake. …read more

Concerns are rising that the nation’s year-long revival in residential housing might be facing an uncertain future. The latest publication to tackle the issue was none other than the venerable Economist. …read more

As capital restrictions on banks mount along with new regulations spanning the mortgage securitization business, private capital is seeing an entrance opportunity. Barron’s has a look at Seer Capital, one investor making waves in the securitized credit and bond markets, treading where banks won’t — or can’t — go. …read more

Last week, New York City saw the first lawsuit filed under the state’s distressed-property consultant law, as MFY Legal Services is suing two companies for taking more than $11,000 from a distressed homeowner and promising her a loan modification. …read more

As the Obama administration continues to absorb body blows over its implementation of the Affordable Care Act, another potential crisis looms ever-larger, according to Barron’s: housing. …read more

Pending home sales continued to sink lower for the fifth consecutive week, as the pending home sales index dipped a slight 0.6% to a NAR index score of 102.1 in October. …read more

It’s been headline news this summer that some of the nation’s fastest-recovering markets have seen substantial price increases — markets in California, Arizona and Nevada has seen double-digit gains in 2013 as housing shortages mixed with demand from retail buyers coaxed by low mortgage rates, as well as historically strong investor interest in purchases. …read […]

U.S. lenders aren’t yet offering lending incentives for borrowers taking steps to reduce their energy footprint with homeownership. But attitudes are slowly starting to change, catching the U.S. to other countries that do offer important credits for “green” upgrades. …read more

Coming changes in the U.S. banking business will remake the mortgage market — even if banks won’t be abandoning mortgages anytime soon — according to industry expert Christopher Whalen, in recent commentary. …read more