News

Lending QB and DocMagic have teamed together to offer a more seamless approach to loan origination in LendingQB's origination software.

Home prices and home sales are rising, despite lackluster demand of traditional owner-occupied housing, according to Tim Rood of The Collingwood Group.

The number of borrowers using private mortgage insurance (MI) continues to climb, according to the latest monthly statistical release from Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA). MICA's member companies - which include Genworth US Mortgage Insurance, Mortgage Guaranty Insurance, and Radian Guaranty - reported $397.5 billion in primary insurance during August, an increase from $396.4 billion in July. The total tally for primary insurance received a boost from reported monthly increases in volume, certificates issued, and applications.

While some employers may be struggling to find practical and cost-effective ways to keep employees happy and productive, V.I.P. Mortgage aims for the heart. The Scottsdale, Arizona-based mortgage bank points to a number of charitable causes undertaken for its employees, including V.I.P.'s sponsorship of one employee's efforts to raise awareness for multiple sclerosis.

Freddie Mac has emerged as the victor in a legal battle over alleged securities fraud. Originally filed in August 2008, the putative class action lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice.

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) has released a new study that shows declining expectations for the U.S. economic picture, with one positive exception - single-family housing. In the organization's semi-annual Real Estate Consensus Forecast, ULI found that most growth projections had been scaled back, but the group's survey of 39 leading real estate economists and analysts from around the U.S. indicated "more optimism" in the single-family housing industry, as forecasts for starts and home prices demonstrated significant increases.

Consumer spending rose $57.2 billion - 0.5 percent - in August, but personal income improved just $15 billion, 0.1 percent, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.

Situs announced the expansion of its operations in Europe with the acquisition of Deutsche Bank's commercial mortgage servicing business.

After reaching a two-year high in July, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell in August to 99.2, the lowest level since April, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Having previously predicted that the index would climb to 102.2, declining numbers in three of four census regions surprised analysts. The slippage in both the PHSI and new home sales dampens the outlook for home sales, but NAR emphasized that the August drop hadn't impacted longer-term trends, with the index up 10.7 percent in the last year.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent during the second quarter of the year, falling below market expectations.