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

“It is time to shrug off the naysaying consultants and lawyers who breed a culture of fear and hypothesized problems to hype their services,” Cordray added.

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…”

Roughly 88 percent of lenders plan to grow their origination business this year, and many – 67 percent – will either increase the number of retail branches or add loan officers.

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

This marks the fourth non-agency MBS from Nationstar backed by inactive HECMs...

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.