Buydowns of interest rates on mortgages continue to be a valuable tool for lenders and homebuilders looking to compete in the current high interest rate environment.

HUD is seeking feedback on a plan to make permanent COVID-era flexibilities related to face-to-face meeting requirements between delinquent borrowers and mortgage servicers.

The housing recession is “essentially over,” according to Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors.

Plaintiffs’ attorney Hamish Hume said he’s optimistic shareholders can persuade a DC jury that FHFA and the Treasury violated shareholders’ contractual rights when they agreed to implement the net worth sweep in 2012.

A proposal floated by federal regulators seeks to base capital requirements for mortgages held in portfolio at big banks on loan-to-value ratios. Banks expressed grave concerns about the proposal.

For years, banks have been dominant players in the non-agency jumbo space. One strategy: Originate a loan, place it in portfolio and earn a spread. But thanks to rising rates and increased regulatory scrutiny, the economics aren’t as attractive.

A New Jersey jury this week agreed with LoanCare’s counterclaim that Freedom Mortgage fraudulently transferred funds when terminating a subservicing agreement.

The MBA said the proposal lacks a provision for a cost-benefit analysis and dispenses with assessing the likelihood that a firm would experience material financial distress in making the designation.

Look for Wells Fargo to offer more of its holdings while other shops, bank and nonbank alike, contemplate their futures.

Amid a housing supply crunch, investors are finding it more profitable to focus on rental properties instead of fix-and-flip homes.