Secondary Market

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell 6,000 for the week ended Aug 4 to 361,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 367,000 initial claims. The prior week├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós total was revised up to 367,000 from the originally reported 365,000.

Following Tuesday├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós news that Freddie Mac will not require a draw from Treasury this quarter, Fannie Mae announced the same on Wednesday in its second quarter earnings report. This is the second consecutive quarter that the GSE has not required a draw from Treasury. Before this year, Fannie May required a draw from Treasury for the previous 11 consecutive quarters. The GSE reported a net worth of $2.8 billion with comprehensive income in the second quarter reaching $5.4 billion. This is up from $2.9 billion in the first quarter of this year.

HARP-assisted refinances drove record refinance activity in the month of June, FHFA revealed Tuesday. The agency released its Refinance Report for June 2012, showing that refinance volume remained strong in June as mortgage rates fell to all-time lows. An estimated 33 percent of refinance volume was done through HARP, the highest percentage since HARP's inception. The report revealed that at the end of June, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae had refinanced 422,969 loans through HARP in 2012, more than in 2011.

New American Funding has a reason to celebrate the end of summer thanks to a recent honor bestowed on the company by _Top_ _Agent_ _Magazine_. The publication recently named New American├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós managing director, Patty Arvielo, to its annual roster of Top California Mortgage Vendors.

A new report from Bankrate.com shows significant declines in mortgage closing costs, pointing to a victory for the industry. According to the website's recent study, the average cost to close on a mortgage loan in the U.S. dropped by seven percent during the past year.

Stalled confidence in the economy and personal finances apparently hasn├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ót brought down optimism in the housing market. Fannie Mae released its July 2012 National Housing Survey Tuesday, showing that consumer optimism regarding the slowly recovering housing market remained strong during the month. Survey respondents said they expect home prices to increase 1.7 percent in the next year, slightly down from the 2.0 percent survey high recorded in June, while 11 percent believe they will drop.

The former Brooklyn home of legendary artists and one-time couple Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe is on the market for $1 million. Located in Clinton Hill, the property's price tag reflects Brooklyn's increasing popularity, but according to Zillow, the singer and photographer were lucky enough to snag the townhouse for just $80 per month back in the 60s.

MountainView Servicing Group announced Monday that it completed the sale of three bulk packages of mortgage servicing rights for Fannie Mae loans. The Denver-based subsidiary of MountainView Capital Holdings completed the sale on July 31. All packages were sold without bifurcation of seller and servicer representations and warranties. The three packages had a combined unpaid principal balance of $487 million and contained mostly conventional fixed-rate product secured by properties located across the country.

Universal Mortgage, Inc., has been acquired by Sterling Bancorp and its subsidiary, Sterling National Bank. Through the agreement between the New York-based companies, Universal's principals and their related teams will join Sterling's mortgage lending operations. Louis J. Cappelli, Sterling Bancorp's chairman and CEO stated, "We are acquiring a strong source of mortgage production that will complement our existing mortgage banking business and further enhance our significant level of non-interest income."

NAFCU Services Corporation has announced the renewal of an agreement with the organization's Preferred Partner, Genworth Financial's U.S. Mortgage Insurance division. The group recently confirmed USMI's partnership status, effectively extending the designation granted to USMI in 2011.