A potential shortage of residential real estate appraisers has some concerned that the decline could have far-reaching effects on the housing and mortgage industry. This prompted the Appraisal Foundation to issue a request for comment and examine possible changes to the recently revamped criteria used to qualify appraisers. While new criteria for becoming an appraiser went into effect in January 2015, the Appraiser Qualifications Board published a concept paper in July that was followed by a public hearing in October 2015 to voice its concern about the qualification criteria. Nationwide, the numbers of licensed appraisers has trended...

Pulte raised concerns about the way PulteGroup is being managed, including the relocation of the company’s headquarters from Detroit to Atlanta in 2013.

The consultant has seen compliance costs rise, but without a commensurate cut in LO commissions...

Citadel's pipeline is at roughly $150 million.

CSS, a joint venture of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is hiring at its main site in Bethesda, MD, as well as its office in Pasadena, CA.

The link between loan sales and mortgage-banking income can be squishy…

The last couple of application reports from the Mortgage Bankers Association have been tepid, but anecdotal evidence suggests that the first quarter – which closed on Thursday – was much better than what many executives were expecting back in early January. Moreover, many mortgage officials interviewed by Inside Mortgage Trends believe that if it weren’t for concerns about the integrated disclosure rule known as TRID, origination volumes would have been ...

Mortgage servicing activities generated stronger profits during the fourth quarter, helping to offset a drop in production-related income, according to a new Inside Mortgage Trends analysis of corporate earnings releases from a group of 13 major lenders. As a group, the 13 lenders reported $612.9 million in mortgage servicing income for the fourth quarter, up 94.5 percent from the previous three-month period. However, three shops reported losses during ... [Includes one data chart]

United Guaranty, the largest private mortgage insurer in the nation, filed to go public this week, touting its market position, longevity and the strong profits it posted over the past two years. Then again, it’s been a tough market for mortgage-related stocks this year. Overall, United Guaranty hopes to raise $100 million by selling 19.9 percent of the firm, with its parent company, American International Group, retaining the balance while setting the stage for eventual ...

Commercial banks and thrifts reported $153.1 billion in single-family home loan sales by their mortgage-banking operations during the fourth quarter of 2015, a steep 24.8 percent drop from the previous quarter. For the year, secondary market activity was up from 2014 but still relatively sluggish. Depository institution mortgage-banking shops sold $721.2 billion of home mortgages last year, a 19.9 percent increase from 2014. But 2015 was the ... [Includes one data chart]