Headlines

Today’s mortgage servicers are suffering from overly disparate technology solutions, and those disconnected systems are holding businesses back, according to a new report. In response to increased compliance follow the housing crisis, most available mortgage technology has become product-specific, and that’s created a disconnect that requires fractured, inefficient processes that are costly and unwieldy. The report proposes an overlay system to bridge the gaps and provide more consistency.

MERSCORP Holdings, Inc., announced this week it will support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s updated Home Mortgage Disclosure Act requirements by facilitating legal entity identifier (LEI) registrations and renewals for users of MERS System and other industry participants.

Adolfo Marzol has been appointed to the position of Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Following his appointment, he resigned from the Board of Directors of Essent Group Ltd.

New data shows that the West—specifically the Northwest—had the top-performing market for Q1 2017. Seattle and Portland had two of the strongest showings in terms of price growth, while the region as a whole saw prices rise 8 percent over the year. The worst market for the quarter was Memphis, Tennessee.

Female renters have a harder time buying a home than their male counterparts. According to recent analysis, this is due to several factors, including lower wages, more student loan debt, more risk aversion, and lower credit scores. Closing the wage gap could help, though that isn't projected to happen until 2052.

Alterra Home Loans, a minority-owned mortgage bank based in Las Vegas and with a presence in 26 states, announced Monday the addition of Tom Middleton as SVP of Business Development and National Expansion.

Both California and Florida housing markets are seeing steady activity despite fluctuations in market conditions, according to two reports released on Monday by each state’s Realtors associations. Because of seasonal price declines and higher household income, California’s housing affordability increased. Meanwhile, Florida Realtors reported higher median sales prices for single-family existing homes.

Mortgage applications for new homes decline after experiencing a peak in March. The relatively strong March may have contributed to April's low numbers. Despite steady demand for housing, homebuilders continue to face rising costs for labor and materials which will continue to moderate the pace of building.

Optimal Blue, a provider of a secondary mortgage market eCommerce platform, announced a partnership with Media Center CRM, which provides customer relationship management solutions to the mortgage industry. Mortgage and real estate professionals using Media Center CRM will have access to real-time prices from Optimal Blue.

This week, the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo will release their latest Housing Market Index (HMI) for May, a measure of market conditions based on three factors, with a range of zero to 100. While the March HMI was unusually high, reaching 71, April stayed steady at 65. All three individual components (present single family sales, next six-month single family sales, and prospective buyer traffic) reported losses month over month, but were still strong.