News

Mortgage rates shifted only slightly this week amid mixed reports on the state of the housing market, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) issued by Freddie Mac on Thursday. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s VP and chief economist, pointed to numbers released by the National Association of Realtors earlier this week, which showed that sales of existing homes have risen for two consecutive months.

More than 300 attendees gathered at the InterContinental New Orleans June 3-5 to participate in the Loan Management & Servicing Seminar presented by USFN—America’s Mortgage Banking Attorneys.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey on Wednesday, which showed the applications for home loans – both new purchases and refinances – rose last week.

Pleasanton, California’s SmartZip, Inc. has announced the public beta launch of its Web site, SmartZip.com, and the introduction of SmartZip Score, analytics-based investment ratings for residential properties, including foreclosures.

Sales of existing homes showed another gain in May, benefiting from favorable affordability conditions and the first-time buyer tax credit, according to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors.

Colonial Savings F.A., headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, says government initiatives to lower interest rates and provide incentives to first-time buyers have led to a lending boom for the bank’s mortgage divisions.

Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS), a Jacksonville, Florida-based provider of technology and services to the mortgage industry, announced Tuesday the launch of its proprietary Home Price Index (HPI).

National Home Auction Corporation (NHA), a now-defunct real estate company specializing in the marketing and auction-style sale of lender foreclosed properties, filed a lawsuit against Real Estate Disposition Corporation (REDC) in an Orange County Superior Court on Friday.

Rainbow City, Alabama’s RealtyBid.com and Clearwater, Florida’s ValCom, Inc., have teamed up to give away a house in a different state every month through a new promotional campaign called The House Game.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) announced Monday that it has lowered its forecast of mortgage originations in 2009 to $2.03 trillion, a drop of over $700 billion from its March forecast. The association explained that $84 billion of the drop is due to lower purchase originations and the other $616 billion-plus is due to fewer rate and term refinancings and very low volumes within the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).