Since helping draft the final rule for a qualified mortgage, former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Deputy Director Raj Date has resigned from the agency and opened his own advisory and investment firm aimed specifically at those borrowers who do not meet the standards for 'qualified mortgages' as set by the CFPB under rules. This turn of events has raised questions as to the agency's ethics and integrity, prompting lawmakers to call for a release of communications between Date and others regarding the company's creation.

In its first-quarter report, the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes experienced a double-digit national price gain for the first time since the housing bubble that took place seven years ago. Prices increased an average of 10.2 percent from the first quarter of last year to the first quarter of this year across the 380 metro markets tracked. However, gains are expected to slow over the next year, falling to 6.5 percent from Q1 2013 to Q1 2014.

Commercial and multifamily loan originations are up both quarterly and over the year, according to MBA's Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Originations.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) revised its economic forecast down and its mortgage originations and mortgage rate forecasts up in its most recent outlook released Thursday. Having previously announced a 2.4 percent economic growth forecast for the second half of this year, MBA now believes economic growth will be closer to 2.2 percent. At the same time, the association's forecast for originations has risen to about $606 billion, an improvement over the original prediction of $527 billion.

A growing number of older Americans are applying for mortgage loans online, according to a recent survey from Mortgage Marvel. Thirty-five percent of mortgage applicants are past the age of 50, according to the survey of more than 650,000 applications submitted to more than 1,100 lenders in 2012. "[P]lenty of older Americans are computer savvy and very willing to pursue major transactions, such as mortgage applications, on the Internet," said Mortgage Marvel COO Rick Allen.

The originations market has been dominated by refinances for some time, but purchases are beginning to make a comeback, according to Ellie Mae's latest Origination Insight Report. Refinances made up just over half the market in June, with 51 percent of loan applicants seeking refinances. This is down from 58 percent in May and 54 percent in June of last year. Purchases closed one day faster than refinances in June (46 days compared to 47), though both categories took longer to close in June than they did in May, according to the report.

As home prices continue climbing, CoreLogic assures us housing is still affordable and any concerns that rising prices will make it not so are unfounded.

The Senate Banking Committee unveiled on Monday a discussion draft of "The Federal Housing Administration [FHA]" Solvency Act of 2013," a new bill designed to provide the agency with tools to strengthen underwriting, make lenders more accountable, and bolster its reverse mortgage program. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota), who praised FHA's role in preventing a more severe housing crash but said action is needed to repair the agency's situation.

Fannie Mae's issuance of multifamily mortgage-backed securities (MBS) in the second quarter was relatively even at $7.6 billion, the GSE announced.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its final paper explaining its vision for a successful common securitization platform.