News

The number of mortgage applications submitted to lenders increased last week, as new applications for both loan refinancings and home purchases rose. That follows a 13 percent plunge in overall activity the week before. Data released by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) Wednesday shows that the trade group's measurement of total mortgage loan application volume jumped 11.3 percent for the week ending January 28.

Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS), a Florida-based provider of integrated technology and services to the mortgage and real estate industries, announced this week that EverHome Mortgage Company has signed a long-term contract extension for LPS's Mortgage Servicing Package (MSP). EverHome Mortgage, a mortgage servicer that is also headquartered in Florida, and its predecessors have used LPS technology for more than 45 years.

DBRS, a provider of credit rating opinions across a range of financial institutions, corporate entities, government bodies, and various structured finance product groups, has hired Richard Carlson as an SVP within the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) group. Carlson will focus on operational risk reviews for CMBS ratings, including servicer evaluations and originator reviews globally.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is pushing legislation that would allow bankruptcy court judges to order foreclosure mediation between homeowners and lenders. His proposal is modeled after a program in his home state of Rhode Island. He says it would not give judges the power to slash mortgage debt like the many bankruptcy cramdown measures that have fallen short, but instead would force lenders to open up the lines of communication to find a solution that is in the best interest of both homeowners and investors.

Ally Financial, the parent company of GMAC Mortgage, said Tuesday that it brought in net income of $1.1 billion for the full-year 2010, a sharp turnaround from the $10.3 billion net loss recorded for 2009. During the fourth-quarter period of last year, the company posted a profit of $79 million, compared to a net loss of $5 billion for the fourth quarter of 2009. The company's financial sheet turned from red to black largely due to gains in its mortgage operations.

Last week, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, released a report to Congress saying servicers are not doing all they can to help facilitate the process of keeping borrowers in their homes. To date there have been 1,025,907 homeowners rejected for HAMP modifications by the eight largest servicers, and there have been 572,655 canceled trial modifications, which typically occurs because of insufficient documentation, program ineligibility, or because the borrower missed payments.

The agency charged with overseeing the nation's two largest mortgage companies is downsizing its own real estate. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Monday that it is consolidating its three Washington, D.C. office locations into one. FHFA currently has employees in offices on G Street; Pennsylvania Ave.; and Eye St., Northwest, but plans to move all staff to a new central location at the Constitution Center at 400 Seventh St., Southwest, beginning November 2011.

Fannie Mae announced Tuesday it has launched a multifamily mortgage-backed securities system called Fannie Mae Guaranteed Multifamily Structures, or Fannie Mae GeMS, that will include Delegated Underwriting and Servicing (DUS) Megas, DUS REMICs, and syndicated DUS Megas.

According to data from Movoto.com, a real estate site based in California, more than half of American families can afford to buy a new home based on income levels and listing prices. But while the site's user search statistics show high interest in affordable price ranges, the company says buyers find it difficult to purchase short sales and foreclosures and banks are still reluctant to lend.

The ups and downs seen in home price data over the past few years indicate a slow recovery in home prices with many false starts, especially in markets riddled with foreclosed properties, according to Fiserv, Inc. But the company's analysts say that while the ebb and flow is not over, they expect 75 percent of U.S. metro areas to see stable prices by the end of 2011. Fiserv says home prices have already leveled out in one of four metro areas.