Secondary Market

Equity Loans LLC, an Atlanta-based leader in the residential mortgage industry whose operations extend to more than 30 states, opened four new office locations in the first quarter of this year.

The National Association of Home Builders├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó (NAHB) 55 single-family Housing Market Index (HMI) jumped year-over-year for the sixth consecutive quarter in Q1, the association reported. As of the end of March, the index rested at 46, 19 points above the same period last year and the highest first-quarter number recorded since the inception of the index in 2008. There are two separate 55+ HMIs to represent two segments of the market: single-family homes and multifamily condominiums.

Freddie Mac is hoping to spread information about a rule that allows people to leverage financial assets such as retirement accounts as qualifying income when applying for mortgage loans. While the rule has been in effect since spring 2011, "word has apparently been slow to spread judging by the calls [the company fields] from inquiring borrowers and housing professionals," according to two executives posting on Freddie Mac's Executive Perspectives Blog.

Pisgah Community Bank (Asheville, North Carolina) and Sunrise Bank (Valdosta, Georgia) became the 11th and 12th federally insured banks to fail in the nation this year, FDIC announced.

Louie Colatriano, formerly of Bank of America, has joined Stearns Lending as SVP of margin management, the firm announced. In his role, Colatriano will lead efforts to profitably grow originations and maximize mortgage production margins across all business channels with a special focus on Stearns' strategic alliance business partners.

While competition over available homes remains fierce in many areas around the country, the latest Bidding War Report from Redfin shows some markets cooled off a bit in April.

Texan law firm Farris Law Group, PLLC announced the hiring of three new team members to focus on the company's growth and expansion, especially in the mortgage document preparation department.

When the Federal Open Market Committee completed its two-day meeting at the beginning of May, it issued the usual six-paragraph post-meeting statement.

Home sales declined in March, but demand for mortgage credit increased, according to the US Housing Market Monthly from Capital Economics. Recently, the Fed reported an increase in home purchase applications in April, and credit "loosened a touch," the report stated. The firm maintains an overall positive outlook on the market despite the small decline in March sales and quashes any concerns of another bubble forming. In fact, Capital Economics calculated it could take "until 2017 for housing to return to fair value."

As the housing market experiences a burgeoning recovery with rising prices, an uptick in sales, and an increase in housing starts, Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth A. Duke points out purchase-originations remain "subdued," especially among individuals with less than stellar credit scores. While originations are down across the board, "[t]he drop in originations has been most pronounced among borrowers with lower credit scores," Duke said at the Housing Policy Executive Council Thursday in Washington, D.C.