ProLender Solutions, Inc., a provider of paperless mortgage lending software, announced it has added flood, fraud, and Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) services to its existing interface with QuestSoft's Compliance EAGLE platform. With the expanded services, ProLender users have a simpler method to verify flood certifications, fraud compliance, and NMLS license information prior to closings.

Fixed mortgage rates increased sharply this week while reports on adjustable-rate mortgages were mixed. Freddie Mac puts the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.46 percent for the week ending December 5, up from 4.29 percent last week. Bankrate's weekly national survey showed a rise of 11 basis points for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage to 4.55 percent. Economists pinned the increases on encouraging growth in new home sales and private jobs.

CoreLogic and the Urban Institute have formed a strategic alliance to power further economic and social policy research, the two groups announced. Through the alliance, CoreLogic's data will be used to power the research conducted by the Urban Institute's newly formed Housing Finance Policy Center.

LRES, a national provider of commercial and residential valuations and asset management, announced it is now serving the retail lending division of California-based PennyMac Financial Services. As part of its services for PennyMac, LRES is managing appraisals that comply with all USPAP requirements as well as all state and federal appraiser independence regulations for the company's customers.

Independent mortgage bankers are a growing segment and they're poised to take over even more market share as larger institutions trim their mortgage businesses. The five biggest banks were responsible for 53.2 percent of new mortgage activity in the United States in 2012, down from nearly two-thirds in 2010. According to a recent FBR Capital Markets forecast, that share could shrink to 40 percent by 2014.

Consumer sentiment rebounded in November, though Americans haven't yet forgotten the government shutdown that brought confidence down in October. The Index of Consumer Sentiment, a joint measure tracked by the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters, rose to 75.1 for the final November tally, making up some of the ground lost in October, when it dropped to 73.2. Last year, the index was measured at 82.7.

Home prices are keeping with their trend of slow, but steady, month-to-month improvements. CoreLogic's October Home Price Index (HPI) reveals a 0.2 percent month-month rise in the national home price but a 12.5 percent year-year increase. October marked the 20th straight month of annual price gains, according to CoreLogic, which conceded in its latest report that appreciation was beginning to fall more in line with normal seasonal patterns.

Mortgage Master, a super-regional mortgage bank and one of the United States' largest privately owned mortgage companies, announced the opening of its first retail branch in Austin, Texas. Having received its Texas Mortgage Banker License, Mortgage Master is now ready to provide purchase borrowers and refinancers all over the Lone Star State with a new outlet as they shop for home mortgages.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have aligned their master policies for mortgage insurance. Among the new requirements incorporated by each GSE are provisions to facilitate faster and more consistent claims processing, specific time frame mandates, and standards for when coverage must be maintained and when it may be revoked. The new policies are expected to take effect in 2014.

Title365 Company, a provider of title insurance and escrow services based in California, announced the hiring of Jeremy Harmon as SVP of national sales. Harmon has spent nearly 20 years in the industry.