A coalition of 23 housing groups offered an enthusiastic endorsement of Scott Turner as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Rate-term refis helped to drive up residential MBS issuance in the fourth quarter.

HUD alleged PHH charged convenience fees in violation of FHA requirements.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-WI, said unelected VA officials shouldn’t have the authority to “write a $16 billion or $17 billion check” through creation of a loan-modification program.

Nick Bhargava, co-founder and executive vice president of regulatory affairs at Groundfloor Financing, said the current lack of affordable housing inventory has caused real estate investors to look to fix and flip more properties.

The CFPB suggested that First Street Foundation does a better job of identifying flood risk than the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

KBRA said 24 of its rated RMBS transactions have more than 5% exposure to properties located in the counties affected by the LA fires.

Phoenix Capital is auctioning off a $661 million portfolio of conventional mortgage servicing rights.

Deliveries of rate-term refinances into agency MBS declined by almost 40% on a monthly basis in December.

Property insurance costs are expected to increase due to the LA-area fires.