Mortgage Rates Above 5% as 2009 Ends
The year ends with mortgage rates just over 5%, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac [[FRE]]. According to Freddie’s weekly survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.14% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending Dec. 31. The rate is up from last week’s 5.05% and from the same last year when it averaged [...]

HUD Eliminates 1% Cap on FHA Mortgages
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) removed the 1% origination fee cap on loans insured by the Federal Housing Agency (FHA), according a mortgagee letter sent out this week. HUD made the change to remain consistent with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), which will require mortgage lenders to disclose to borrowers [...]

A look back: HW’s Top Stories of 2009
The end of the year is upon us — and what a year it’s been! Here’s a look at the top 5 most-read stories from HW this year. A Game of Credit Cost Smoke and Mirrors at Wells Fargo? Paul Jackson, April 9, 2009 This story about potential lurking credit costs at WFC caught the collective imagination of [...]

UK Home Prices Climb 5.9% in 2009: Nationwide
Home prices in the UK climbed 5.9% in 2009, according to a report from the Nationwide Building Society. The average price of a home in the UK landed at £162,103 ($257,105) to end the year with an 8.9% rebound from their lowest point in February 2009, according to Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s chief economist. Prices in the UK [...]

Treasury Pumps $3.8bn More Into GMAC
The U.S. taxpayer now owns a majority interest in GMAC Financial Services, which this week received a capital infusion of $3.79bn from the US Treasury Department. The latest government-led effort to bolster GMAC’s capital base comes as part of a year-end effort to close a capital shortfall, per government stress tests conducted in May 2009. The [...]

In This Corner: Valligent CEO Jeremy McCarty
Jeremy McCarty is the CEO and chief valuation strategist of Roseville, Calif.-based Valligent. Formerly known as EAS, Valligent operates in the areas of national residential valuation and collateral risk management solutions, including appraisal review, proprietary valuation, loan pool reconciliation tie-out services, and appraisal underwriting. Jeremy has over 20 years of experience in the real estate [...]

Illinois Adopts Nationwide Licensing System for 2010
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) said this week it will adopt the Nationwide Licensing System (NMLS) for license applications and renewals beginning Jan. 4, 2010. Loan originators in Illinois will also begin transitioning onto the NMLS for their new individual licensing credentials required in 2010. The database licensing system is designed to [...]

Origination Funding May Increase as Credit Restrictions Ease in 2Q10, Analysts Predict
A recent set of research focusing on 2010 strategies for investors of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS) by analysts at Barclays Capital finds that credit availability for mortgage originations may increase in the next six to 12 months. However, the situation will remain tight in the next three to six months, they add, as the market grapples [...]

Developers Push RESPA Updates As New Year Nears
Mortgage software developers are rushing updates onto the market to meet Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) compliance requirements before the New Year, when changes to RESPA come into effect. Avista Solutions finalized a system update to its loan origination software (LOS) for RESPA compliance that will be available in time for the Jan. 1, 2010 [...]

Foreclosure Notices Drop in Major Counties: Default Research
The number of pre-foreclosure filings in California, which include notices of default and notices of trustee sales, dropped across several counties in November, according to statistics from Default Research, which tracks the notices. The hard-hit Los Angeles County had a 10% decline from last month to 3.08% in November. Orange County, where 3.4% received a filing, [...]