One observer noted: “Talk about a government takeover! This feels third-world to me…”

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan sellers pushed hard to increase originations of purchase-money mortgages during the first quarter of 2016, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis. The biggest beneficiaries were loan applicants with lower credit scores. In the first quarter of this year, 21.4 percent of purchase mortgages sold to the two government-sponsored enterprises had credit scores in the 620 to 699 range. That was up from just 14.4 percent in ... [Includes two data charts]

A preliminary analysis of 2015 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act reports suggests that loan denial rates declined slightly last year. ComplianceTech, a supplier of fair lending and HMDA technologies for lenders and others, recently released an “EarlyLook” at its online Lending Patterns database of HMDA reports. A group of 175 lenders had a combined $730.9 billion in mortgage originations last year, up 35.7 percent from its volume back in 2014. The 175 aren’t necessarily the ...

The practice of an individual investor purchasing a property, fixing it up and reselling it for a profit – an activity so prevalent before the financial crisis that it spawned television shows – is making a return, especially in certain markets, according to CoreLogic. “Flipping was at an all-time high before the housing bubble burst because of easy access to credit and speculation for higher home prices,” said Bin He, principal economist at CoreLogic, in a recent blog post ...

United Guaranty was the largest MI in terms of total policies written in 1Q16, but Arch Mortgage Insurance and National MI were the fastest growers.

Mortgage officials tracking the case note that almost a year ago Quicken raised $1.25 billion through a debt sale, money that can be employed for legal help as it fights the DOJ case.

In general, private mortgages are extended by the owner of the property to a borrower through a private contract. Terms can vary greatly from deal to deal.

EverBank sold jumbos with an unpaid principal balance of $981.3 million, up 60.4 percent from the previous quarter.

Perhaps, the time is drawing near to once again raise the thorny issue of whether the Department of Housing and Urban Development should cut FHA premiums...

Many mortgage lenders continue to fret about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s integrated disclosure rule, but the bureau’s latest report to Congress suggests they should also pay attention to fair lending issues, including Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data integrity, along with mortgage servicing. “Mortgage lending continues to be a key priority for the [CFPB’s] Office of Fair Lending for both supervision and enforcement, with a focus on HMDA data integrity and potential fair lending risks in…