FHA insurance fund records sizable gains

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insurance fund is in its best shape since the last housing boom, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The fund’s capital ratio stood at 4.84% in fiscal year 2019, which ended this past September. For the fifth straight year, that figure exceeded the 2% minimum […]

Tenant demand for small commercial properties dips sharply

Demand for space in small U.S. commercial real estate buildings has plummeted in 2019, a worrisome sign for the small-cap market, according to tracking company Boxwood Means. Year to date through this past September, companies are absorbing space in properties of less than 50,000 square feet at the slowest rate since the financial crisis, Boxwood […]

Newest data delivers mixed messages on delinquencies, foreclosures

The most recent tracking data is yielding mixed messages on home mortgage delinquency and foreclosure trends across the country. The nationwide delinquency rate fell significantly across all major loan types and hit a near quarter-century low in the third quarter of this year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). A recent report from Attom […]

Purchase applications heat up despite rate hike

The latest tracking data suggests that mortgage activity has been picking up in spite of a recent jump in the average interest rate. Total applications increased for most of the major mortgage programs during the week that ended Nov. 8, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). On a seasonally adjusted basis, MBA’s composite index […]

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Understand what matters and what doesn’t in your borrower’s credit report

Think You’re Done Learning? Think Again

Mortgage lending is a unique business in many ways. As a loan originator, you’re often dealing with inexperienced clients who are making one of the most important decisions of their lives — and likely the most financially critical. In other ways, loan origination is a career like many others, one that requires constant nurturing and […]