The use of online remote notarization for mortgage closing looks likely to increase as uniform state legislation was drafted recently and many title agents see the tech as a difference maker. Last week, the Uniform Law Commission updated its Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. In states that adopt the updated legislation, notary publics would be allowed to complete notarizations remotely, including mortgage closings. Among other provisions, the law provides remote online notarizations ...

Mortgage banking profits eroded during the third quarter of 2018 as the industry continued to wrestle with overcapacity and sluggish origination volume. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s latest quarterly performance report, the average mortgage banking operation generated $946,000 in pretax income during the July-September cycle, a 31.6 percent decline from the previous quarter. Third-quarter profits were still somewhat stronger than those earned in late 2017 and early this year ...

Genworth Mortgage Insurance has joined the private MI fledgling risk-based pricing club with the launch of its new proprietary risk-based pricing engine, GenRATE. GenRATE allows customers to opt for risk-based pricing or choose from Genworth’s standard published rate card. “Demand for more dynamic pricing is growing,” said Rohit Gupta, Genworth’s president and chief executive officer. “Offering the option of either rate card or risk-based pricing is the best way to show lenders that ...

Regardless of race and gender, the likelihood of a young adult becoming a homeowner depends significantly on how wealthy his or her parents are, according to a new study by The Urban Institute. The analysis found that parental homeownership alone increases a young adult’s likelihood of owning a home by 7 to 8 percent. The report found that compared to prior generations, millennials are less likely to be homeowners. Researchers also found persistent racial and ethnic disparities ...

The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced last week that it was increasing the maximum conforming loan limit for 2019. For most counties, the new limit will be 6.9 percent higher at $484,350. The increase, while routine, has both supporters and critics.

Cracks began to appear in the housing market during the third quarter of 2018, leading to a modest decline in purchase-mortgage originations, but industry experts continue to predict a rebound next year. [Includes four data charts.]

Observers note that CFPB nominee Kraninger has no track record in financial services…

Purchase loans accounted for over 80.0 percent of third-quarter production at Wells Fargo, PennyMac Financial, Caliber Home Loans, U.S. Bank and Amerihome…

Ocwen, which paid $360 million in cash for PHH, also disclosed: “The purchase price we negotiated contemplated PHH could continue to incur losses.”

The volume of purchase mortgage originations will increase in 2019 even though interest rates will be higher, according to industry economists. Purchase mortgage originations will be boosted to some extent by a rise in employment and wages along with demographic shifts.