Although table-funding transactions fell slightly in terms of market share in the first quarter, prospects are looking up for mortgage brokers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 78,500 men and women were employed as full-time mortgage brokers in March, the highest reading since the summer of 2008, when the housing and mortgage markets were in a free-fall. Trade group officials who represent brokers report they are seeing more wholesalers engaged in table funding ... [Includes one data chart]
Mortgage underwriting standards have loosened slightly recently, though nowhere near levels seen during the subprime boom. Federal regulators are concerned that not enough lending is being directed toward borrowers with lower credit scores. In November 2012, the average credit score on newly closed loans was 750, according to Ellie Mae. Average scores have largely declined each month since then, to 742 in April. During that time, credit scores on conventional mortgage originations declined by ...
A Rhode Island software developer says it has taken mortgage application processing to another level with a new system that ensures loan approval and a money-back guarantee to the borrower if the application falls through. At the heart of the system is software called The Complete 1003, which generates a highly detailed application form to supplement the standard mortgage application form lenders use to collect a borrowers financial information. The Complete 1003 is designed to ...
Limiting the maximum amount of cash-out refinances to 80 percent of the current value of a home could significantly decrease defaults, according to new research by the Federal Reserve. Such limits on refis are already in place in Texas, with the Fed economist suggesting that the restrictions could be put in place nationwide, along with recourse provisions, in an effort to limit defaults. Steven Laufer, an economist at the Fed, looked into mortgage performance on a sample of properties in Los Angeles County ...
CashCall, a leading refinance and consumer lending specialist, is streamlining and automating its mortgage loan processing with a mobile smart application geared towards tech-savvy consumers. The California-based lender says it has been using state-of-the-art technology in its mortgage operations and has now upped the ante with Kofax Mobile Capture and Kofax Transmission Modules. These products enable borrowers to use their hand-held mobile devices to capture, send and parse mortgage documents ...
The $443 million non-agency MBS, Chases second of the year, is set to receive AAA ratings with credit enhancement ranging from 6.90 percent to 10 percent for the top tranches.
Mortgage bankers originated $54 billion of jumbo loans in the first quarter, a slight decline from the prior period but the second best showing in two years.
The two biggest components of the residential mortgage market conventional loans below the conforming loan limits and government-insured mortgages saw measurable declines in new originations in early 2013, according to a new Inside Mortgage Finance analysis and ranking. The conventional-conforming market nearly all of which is financed through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securitization fell to an estimated $333.0 billion during the first quarter of 2013. That was down 5.4 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, but the sector still accounted for a hefty 66.6 percent of total originations during the period. The conventional-conforming market share hasnt changed...[Includes two data charts]