With each passing day, more evidence is emerging that 2019 is a good year for the mortgage business due low interest rates leading to a wave of refinances. Earlier this week, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and Citigroup all reported that their mortgage originations were up in the third quarter, with refinances playing a large role in the…

For months, construction and remodeling activity has been rapidly cooling down.  Additionally, for all of 2019, BuildFax Housing Health Reports have revealed that single-family housing authorizations – what it considers a key indicator of historic recessions – have been decreasing.  But the latest BuildFax Housing Health Report has a different tune to it. According to…

The International Monetary Fund said global economic growth this year will be the weakest pace since the 2008 financial crisis as the U.S-China trade war and Brexit weigh on the world’s economies. “Higher tariffs and prolonged uncertainty surrounding trade policy have dented investment and demand for capital goods,” IMF chief economist Gita Gopinath said in…

Foreclosure activity sank in the third quarter of 2019, dropping to the lowest level in nearly 15 years, according to the latest report from ATTOM Data Solutions. Foreclosure activity in the third quarter fell 19% from a year ago to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2005, a 13-year low, ATTOM’s Q3 2019…

Last week, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a low of 3.57%, spurring another uptick in refinance demand, resulting in mortgage applications rising by 0.5%, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The organization indicates that on an unadjusted basis, the index crawled forward 1% for the week ending on October 11, 2019. Joel Kan, MBA’s vice…

The nation’s low-interest-rate environment and strong job market propelled homebuilder confidence to 71 points in October, the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo said in this month’s Housing Market Index. According to the index, October’s level now marks the highest reading since February of last year. “The housing rebound that began in the spring continues, supported by…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it will establish a taskforce to examine ways to modernize federal consumer financial laws. The taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law will examine the existing legal and regulatory environment facing consumers and financial service providers. It will examine ways to improve and strengthen consumer financial regulations and report what…

Continuing a trend that stretches back through most of this year, mortgage originations were up at some of the nation’s biggest banks in the third quarter due to this year’s consistently low mortgage rates. As seen in the most recent data from Freddie Mac, mortgage interest rates have been sitting at approximately one full percentage…

The U.S. foreclosure rate fell to the lowest level in two decades in July as a strong labor market made it easier for Americans to pay their bills. The share of mortgages in foreclosure fell to 0.4%, compared with 0.5% a year earlier, CoreLogic said in a report on Tuesday. Other measures including the delinquency…

Mortgage Contracting Services, a national provider of mortgage-related services, is acquiring Miami-based M&M Mortgage Services, the company announced Tuesday.  Over the past few years, MCS, which provides property preservation services, inspections, REO property maintenance and valuations for the financial services industry, has made a series of acquisitions. In the spring of 2016, the company acquired…