Headlines

Monthly index leveled off nationally in January but grew over the year. No regions in decline for the first time since October. Mountain and Pacific values were January’s strongest.

Although profits for processing loans dropped, mortgage lenders with servicing portfolios benefited from higher net servicing financial income in the fourth quarter of 2016 due to increases in the valuation of their mortgage servicing rights. This event was driven by rising interest rates. However, reduced profitability on the production side of the business generally outweighed servicing gains.

As risk is reduced, CoreLogic indicates that home prices have continued to rise. Previously, the CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) showed nationwide sales, including distressed sales, jumped 6.9 percent year over year and 0.7 percent month-over-month. Mortgage rates have continued to rise as well, and are anticipated to continue to rise during 2017.

Ali Haralson is joining Auction.com as EVP of Client Management, according to an announcement from the company Monday.

Experian and Finicity, a cloud-based financial data aggregation provider, announced Monday a collaboration that will digitize the mortgage lending process and bring some of the “credit invisible” into view for lenders.

The new VP and National Account Manager will be responsible for driving business development and delivering private mortgage insurance solutions for clients.

Homes stayed on the market for an average of two days more in February than January.

Millennials in Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., and Des Moines, are pursuing home ownership more than their counterparts in any of the nation's 100 largest cities, according to a Lending Tree study.

Number of starts and completions increased in February, monthly and compared to last year. But permits dropped for the month.

HUD should expect a $6.2 billion budget cut on 2018, a 13.2 percent decrease from the 2017 annualized CR level.