Mortgage

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 26, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- David H. Stevens, President & CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), issued the following statement in response to the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Housing Commission (the Commission) report America’s Housing Future: New Directions for National Policy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications decreased 1.7 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 15, 2013.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - February 25, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Quicken Loans Inc., the nation’s third largest mortgage lender, today announced the launch of the company’s “Bring It Home” sweepstakes, which will pay five peoples’ mortgages for a month each time Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, finishes among the top-five in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race

MCLEAN, VA - February 22, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today took steps to cut the time it's taking servicers to get insurance proceeds to borrowers to start repairs on homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy and secured by Freddie Mac-owned or -guaranteed mortgages. Freddie Mac is one of the nation's largest investors in single-family and multifamily mortgages.

Reston, Virginia - February 22, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed, without hearing, an order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii dismissing with prejudice plaintiffs’ complaint against MERS. The ruling found that MERS as nominee for the lender and the lender’s successors and assigns had authority to act, including assigning the mortgage to a third party.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 22, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE:WFC) reported today that between March 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012 the company assisted more than 70,000 homeowners through expanded modifications, other customer relief options, and refinances under the National Mortgage Settlement. As a result, Wells Fargo has fulfilled an estimated 73.5 percent of its $4.3 billion national consumer relief and refinance commitment and remains on track to complete its entire commitment in the required time frames.

DALLAS, TX - February 21, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties fell to a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.09 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012, the lowest level since 2008, a decrease of 31 basis points from the previous quarter, and down 49 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey, released today at MBA’s National Servicing Conference and Expo in Dallas, Texas

Dallas, TX - February 21, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- David H. Stevens, President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association, today delivered a speech at MBA’s National Mortgage Servicing Conference & Expo.

MCLEAN, VA - February 21, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates changing little over the past four weeks which is helping to spur new home construction. After being flat for three straight weeks, the 30-year fixed edged up to 3.56 percent, while the 15-year fixed remained unchanged at 2.77 percent.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 21, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Bank of America completed or approved nearly $30 billion in real and meaningful relief to more than 330,000 homeowners and offered life-of-loan interest rate reductions to more than 40,000 others in 2012 through programs of the National Mortgage Settlement (NMS). The bank reported its progress through December 31, 2012 in a quarterly report to the federal program monitor, who released the details today.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 20, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) support the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) recently released Bulletin 2013-01 entitled “Mortgage Servicing Transfers.” The bulletin, released on February 11, 2013, is intended to highlight potential risks to consumers related to the transfer of mortgage servicing rights among financial entities and provide the industry clarity on the CFPB’s regulatory expectations related to such transfers

Reston, Virginia - February 20, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit issued a ruling favorable to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.’s role and authority as mortgagee by affirming a U.S. District Court dismissal in Culhane v. Aurora.

Washington, D.C. - February 18, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today released its November 2012 Refinance Report, which shows that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have reached a new milestone and refinanced more than 2 million loans through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). In November alone, nearly 130,000 homeowners refinanced their mortgage through HARP, making it the second biggest month in 2012.

MCLEAN, VA - February 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) - Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey(R) (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage rates unchanged from the previous week and remaining near their record lows as they continue to support housing demand, translating into a pick-up in home prices in most markets.

WASHINGTON - February 14, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling released the following statement today after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) added the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to its list of government programs identified as “high risk due to their greater vulnerability to fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement or the need for transformation”.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today announced a plan it will implement over the next year that focuses on the mortgage industry’s compliance with new consumer protections that go into effect in January 2014

Washington, D.C. - February 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In reaction to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address tonight, Julia Gordon, Director of Housing Finance and Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 13, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- Mortgage applications decreased 6.4 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 8, 2013.

MCLEAN, VA - February 12, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the fourth quarter of 2012, 27 percent of borrowers that refinanced an existing mortgage chose to shorten their loan term, based on the Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) Quarterly Product Transition Report released today. Further, refinancing borrowers clearly preferred fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a fixed-rate.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - February 11, 2013 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today issued a bulletin advising mortgage companies about their legal obligations that protect consumers during loan transfers between mortgage servicers. When handing over the processing of loans, mortgage servicers should not lose paperwork, lose track of a homeowner’s loss mitigation plans, or hinder a consumer’s chances of saving their home from unnecessary foreclosure. The CFPB has a heightened concern about these practices given the large number and size of recent servicing transfers.