News

FHFA's seasonally adjusted House Price Index rose 0.4 percent on a monthly basis in June, matching May's rate of growth. The agency also included quarterly comparisons in its June index, finding that home prices were up only 0.8 percent from the first quarter to the second—the first time quarterly price growth has been below 1 percent since early 2012.

Freddie Mac's Multi-Indicator Market Index (MiMi) rose 0.04 percent from May to June, ending the year's first half at a reading of 73. "As we see the economy slowly normalizing we're starting to see its effects in the housing market as well, albeit very slowly," said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. "The good news is the big housing markets, of which some were also the hardest hit, continue to improve."

LRES, a firm specializing in valuations and asset management for the mortgage and real estate industries, announced the promotion of veteran employee Yvonne Thompson to VP of human resources (HR).

Applications for mortgage loans increased last week, helped along by gains in both purchase and refinance loans. The Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) latest Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey shows loan application volumes rose a seasonally adjusted 2.8 percent for the week ending August 22, doubling the rate of growth recorded the previous week.

The Federal Housing Administration announced revisions to rules surrounding post-payment interest charges and adjustable rate notifications. "Together, these new rules are responsive to the regulations implementing the Truth-in-Lending Act (Regulation Z) as revised last year by the CFPB," the agency said in a release.

According to Zillow's latest Negative Equity Report, high negative equity among Gen-X homeowners is causing gridlock in the U.S. housing market. Nearly 43 percent of homeowners between 35 and 49 are underwater on their mortgages. In contrast, only 15 percent of millennial homeowners (those between 20 and 34 years old) and 31 percent of baby boomers (50 to 64 years old) are underwater.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Tuesday that independent mortgage banks and mortgage subsidiaries of chartered banks posted a net profit of $954 on each loan originated in the year's second quarter. The report represents a significant turnaround from the first quarter, when mortgage banks took a net loss of $194 for each loan.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index climbed 2.1 points to 92.4 in the group's August reading, marking the highest level of confidence since October 2007. August's increase was driven by an increase in Conference Board's measure of current economic sentiment, which grew to 94.6 from 87.9 in July. Most of that was spurred by more promising reports over the spring and summer as business and labor market indicators improved.

Platinum Data Solutions, a California-based collateral evaluation and technology provider for the mortgage industry, announced the addition of a new comparison feature to its flagship appraisal quality platform, RealView.

The S&P/Case-Shiller National Price Index gained 6.2 percent annually in June, according to a report released Tuesday from S&P Dow Jones Indices. That figure was down from a yearly increase of 7.1 percent in May. The narrower 10- and 20-city composite indices each gained 8.1 percent compared to May's improvements of 9.4 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.