The jumbo market accounted for 16.7 percent of total mortgage originations during the third quarter of 2013 and was much stronger than other sectors.

The civil action entails the alleged taking from WJB of some 5,000 loan files. It should be noted that these aren’t just any LOs – the group in question ranks among the top producers in the nation.

Some 33 mortgage lenders contributed loans to the new jumbo MBS led by Guaranteed Rate with a 9.3 percent share.

At a Senate Banking Committee hearing, Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ, criticized FHFA Acting Director Ed DeMarco for his plan to reduce both the conforming loan limit and the high-cost limit.

Tom Popik, research director of Campbell Surveys, said buyers have a number of incentives to pay with cash. “You get about a 10 percent discount on the purchase price,” he noted.

Jumbo mortgages have a higher risk of fraud than conforming mortgages, according to a new report from Interthinx.

The purchase mortgage share of originations is expected to increase significantly, from 30 percent in 2012 to 79 percent in 2015, according to Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac projects that interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages will hit 5.00 percent by the end of 2014, with little impact on affordability.

The decline in the use of proprietary loan mods also has outpaced a decline in foreclosure sales. Some 166,809 foreclosures were completed in the third quarter of 2013, down 2 percent from the first quarter of 2013.

Ocwen Financial, the nation’s top-ranked subprime servicer, was the only firm among the major servicers that increased its subprime servicing portfolio (excluding subservicing) in the third quarter of 2013.