VA home-loan guarantee volume rose in the first half of 2018 thanks to a second-quarter surge in purchase business. New VA loan guarantees totaled $89.9 billion at midyear, a 7.5 percent improvement from the same point last year. VA production was even stronger quarter-over-quarter, with $50.9 billion in originations, up a whopping 30.2 percent from the first quarter. Purchase loans accounted for 68.1 percent of VA guarantees in the second quarter, up 23.1 percent from the prior quarter. Purchase for the first six months of 2018 was up 19.5 percent from a year ago. VA refi business struggled in the second quarter as production fell 7.0 percent from the previous period, dropping the overall refi share to 31.9 percent. Most of the damage in VA production in the second quarter was in the Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan program, where volume tumbled 42.8 percent from the previous ... [Chart]

Fannie Mae issued another fraud alert, this time warning lenders about 10...

Legal argument: If the FHFA is unconstitutional, then the net worth profit sweep must be…

Meanwhile, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accounted for 82.5 percent of all multifamily loans securitized in the first half…

A report released last week by the Treasury Department encouraged broader use of automated appraisals and recommended that Congress help push the technology forward. Not surprisingly, the appraisal industry is urging caution.

Impac's Justin Moisio: “Everyone’s getting into this game.”

Geneva Financial, Tempe, AZ, is offering loan officer recruits a compensation package of 250 basis points or higher, attracting scores of resumes as well as the ire of some of its competitors.

A spokesman said Impac is now funding $100 million per month in nonprime loans and plans to grow the business further.

There’s been a resurgence of MSAs among other settlement service providers…

In June, Ditech agreed to sell MSRs to New Penn Financial...