The rise in retail market share likely reflects the fact that smaller lenders, which are more likely to do retail lending exclusively, account for a growing share of GSE business.
About 90 percent of the housing markets in the U.S today are considered affordable, according to RealtyTrac. Speaking at a recent real estate conference in Miami, RealtyTrac Vice President Daren Blomquist said places like San Diego and Seattle are on the threshold of exceeding their historic affordability. …
Increased regulation and a relatively stable lending environment have helped reduce mortgage fraud, although that could change as purchase mortgages become more prevalent. Interthinx, a provider of risk management services for lenders, said in its new annual report for 2014 that mortgage fraud declined by 4 percent compared with 2013. The biggest drop was in fraud relating to a borrower’s employment or income. …