News

Higher credit scores are by far the domain of small cities near major ones. A new study of average credit scores by LendEDU shows that among major cities, top average scores are moderate compared to most smaller cities. And there is no geographical area that owns high or low scores.

During the recent meeting of the National Mortgage Servicing Association, Ray Barbone was installed as Chairman of the organization. Barbone, EVP of Mortgage Services at BankUnited will be taking the place of J.K. Huey, SVP of Lending Asset Management and Preservation at Wells Fargo.

Dart Appraisal, an independent appraisal management company, recently announced its collaboration with HouseCanary, a San Francisco-based real estate data analytics company. Through this collaboration, Dart Appraisal will offer a new valuation product to its lender clients.

In fall of 2015, the CFPB introduced new data reporting requirements which are set to take effect next year under the 1974 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA), updating existing rules which will make lenders provide information on property value, the terms of the loan, the term of prepayment penalties and the duration of teaser or introductory interest rates. However, the increased amount of data which the CFPB requires lenders to report has led increased complications.

Fannie Mae announced the results of its second reporforming loan sale transaction. The deal was previously announced on March 14, and consisted of 7,600 loans totaling $1.65 billion in unpaid principal balance (UPB). All four loan pool were won by DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc., and the transaction is expected to close on May 25.

It looks like 2017 may be the nation’s fasted-paced market in seven years if March is any indication. Homes sold in an average of just 49 days for the month, and in some markets, it took just eight days. March also saw home prices and sales increase, and a large portion of sales came in well above listing price.

According to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, total Refinance volume has dropped as mortgage rates have risen. In February 2017, borrowers completed 4,198 refinances through HARP, and since HARP’s inception in 2009, the program has made 3,456,422 refinances. HARP represented three percent of total refinance volume, and six percent of loans refinanced through HARP had a loan-to-value ratio greater than 125 percent.

PNC, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase all reported optimistic outlooks in their Q1 reports despite some declining revenue. All three banks found that their mortgage revenue has been declining. due to lower gains on residential mortgage servicing rights and lower mortgage loan revenues overall. Overall earnings for JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo were down slightly from the previous quarter.

New data shows U.S. foreclosure activity has hit its lowest point since 2006. Now below pre-recession levels nationwide, there was an 11-percent drop in foreclosure filings in Q1 2017. Nearly half of all metro markets have also fallen below pre-recession levels.

ClosingCorp recently announced its induction into the Ellie Mae Hall of Fame. The provider of real estate cost data and technology for the mortgage and real estate services industry was selected as the winner of the Lenders’ Choice for Best Service Provider Category.