Originations of FHA-insured mortgages declined in early 2011, and February’s total was the lowest in nearly three years. Overall mortgage market lending dropped in the fourth quarter last year, and the industry is in the throes of reforming the system while trying to urge back the private sector. The $15.0 billion in... [Includes one data chart and one graph]

All FHA-insured mortgages made after April 18 will face higher annual premiums, the latest fee structure change in a series of adjustments over the past year. Early indications from Department of Housing and Urban Development data show that the measures have begun to accomplish both of the agency’s goals – to shore up...

Real-estate investment trusts that focus on the nonconforming market are positioned to capitalize on risk-retention requirements proposed last week by federal regulators. But banks with large balance sheets may be less able to access non-agency securitization, according to industry analysts. The qualified residential mortgage proposal is likely to...

Many stakeholders are still in the dark with unanswered questions despite efforts by senior staff attorneys of the Federal Reserve to explain the complex provisions and issues arising from a final rule on loan originator compensation. Paul Mondor and Nikita Pastor, attorneys with the Fed’s Consumer and Community Affairs Division, which wrote...

The mortgage industry scored a victory recently after a Michigan jury issued a unanimous verdict for Quicken Loans in an overtime lawsuit that has been pending since May 2004. The jury in Henry v. Quicken Loans vindicated the lender after finding that the company had fully complied...

The largest states in terms of FHA mortgage volume accounted for more than half of total FHA lending in 2010, boosted by a surge in purchase lending. The top 10 states in FHA origination volume last year held a 52.4 percent market share, up from 49.6 percent in 2009 and 48.8 percent in 2008, according...[Includes one data chart]

Similar lawsuits seeking to stop the implementation and enforcement of the Federal Reserve’s final rule prohibiting certain payments to mortgage loan originators (MLO) have been filed in federal district court in Washington, DC. In recent filings, the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals sought...

Having different compensation formulas with different wholesale lenders could expose an honest mortgage broker to charges of illegal steering under the Federal Reserve’s loan originator compensation rule taking effect April 1. The California Association of Mortgage Professionals warned...

A coalition of mortgage lenders and homebuilders has asked the Federal Reserve Board to make compliance with two interim rules implementing the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act optional. The rules are intended to clarify previously issued regulations requiring mortgage lenders to disclose...

A West Virginia judge has ordered Quicken Loans to pay a 45-year old licensed practical nurse and her adult disabled daughter more than $2.7 million in punitive damages and legal costs after finding the lender guilty of fraudulent and deceptive mortgage lending practices. In a Feb. 17 decision, Judge Arthur Recht of the Circuit Court of Ohio County, WV, concluded...