“We see a lot of multiple offers, especially for first-time buyer ranges,” said one real estate agent based in Washington State.

Fairholme is feeling the heat from investors over poor performance, with Berkowitz noting the fund’s returns have “put us in the dog house.”

Meanwhile, Fairholme’s case against the government is still pending and Berkowitz said from a legal standpoint, “We’re getting closer to the finish line…”

Thanks to falling interest rates, some warehouse managers are starting to hear their telephones ring with requests for new credit.

Schilling cites a 2009 amendment to the DOJ’s FCA policy that expanded the boundaries of where it can be applied. He said now a claim can include a request for money made to a recipient of government funds.

Several groups of traditional insurance companies have substantially increased their borrowing capacity from the FHLB system as well.

Compared to an estimate released at its annual convention in October, the trade group's production forecast is up 12.3 percent.

Baldwin noted that experienced mortgage bankers have grown to expect seasonality, but that doesn’t mean they have to like it…

As banks cede market share to nondepositories, an odd thing is happening: banks and thrifts are hiking their investment in MBS.

Consumers complained to the CFPB about debt collection issues at a substantially reduced level during the fourth quarter of 2015, according to a new analysis and ranking by Inside the CFPB. During the period ending Dec. 31, 2015, consumer gripes were down 27.5 percent versus the previous quarter.Among the top 50 companies as ranked by consumer criticisms, 45 saw a double-digit percentage decline. Year over year, the story is less inspirational, with consumer kvetching down a mere 0.6 percent. Six companies saw complaints leap by triple digit percentages. To put some anecdotal flesh on these empirical bones, in the CFPB’s most recent supervisory highlights report, the bureau pointed out that during its examination of at least one debt collector, ...