Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

Despite efforts to bring greater equality to the housing market, research conducted by Zillow suggests black and Hispanic homebuyers still face greater difficulties related to homeownership than whites. The study found blacks and Hispanics were more likely to apply for a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) than a conventional loan, and out of those that did go for a conventional mortgage, black and Hispanic applicants were far more likely to be denied.

Interactive Mortgage Advisors (IMA), a firm focused on the valuation and trading of mortgage servicing rights (MSRs), has added to its operational network with the opening of a new office in Dallas.

Dallas-based Wingspan continues the expansion of their business development team with the recent announcement of John Guy joining the team as SVP of business development. Guy comes to Wingspan after serving as the managing director of business development at Auction.com.

After loosening steadily for several months, credit standards for mortgage loans ended 2013 at their lowest level all year, according to the December Origination Insight Report from Ellie Mae.

In a conversation Thursday hosted by the Brookings Institution, outgoing Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's easy money policies, dismissing concerns of out of control inflation and capital losses. He also eased worries about the long-term effects of the financial crisis--including the impact of unemployment on labor supply and productivity--saying that while they are a problem, none of issues are "truly permanent."

The NAHB's Housing Market Index (HMI) experienced a slight stumble in January, dipping a point from December as builders expressed falling confidence in the single-family market.

DataQuick, a San Diego-based real estate information company, announced the addition of major enhancements to its automated property valuation model (AVM), CMV-Portfolio.

December's discouraging jobs report caused mortgage rates to pull back once again last week.

The latest builder application data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) suggest new home sales numbers came in below average for December. MBA's latest Builder Application Survey, a measure of application volume from mortgage subsidiaries of homebuilders, shows applications for new home purchases dropped 11 percent from November to December (unadjusted). Unadjusted, MBA estimates the month saw 28,000 new home sales.

Representatives from the Federal Reserve's 12 districts reported moderate economic expansion across most of the country through the end of last year, with indicators pointing to more steady growth ahead. Real estate markets "generally continued to improve," according to the Fed, with most districts experiencing increase home sales activity and construction along with rising home prices. Credit standards were largely unchanged among the districts, though increased competition led to some instances of relaxed standards.