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Author name: Ricky Vasquez

Existing-home sales up in February, market faces spring challenges

Bright MLS, Existing home sales, Housing Market, HWmember, Lawrence Yun, Mortgage Rates, National Association of Realtors, Real Estate /

U.S. existing-home sales rose slightly in February, increasing 1.7% from the previous month, though activity remained lower than a year earlier, according to new data released Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The organization reported sales reaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.09 million in February. Compared with the same month last […]

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OCC’s Gould doubles down on state preemption

National banks, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance /

Key insight: Comptroller Jonathan Gould referenced the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s founding by Abraham Lincoln as the basis for federal preemption policy.  Forward look: He said the OCC will continue to file briefs with federal courts on the subject so that there will be a robust record to shore up the agency’s

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Advocates urge judge to block $68m Colony Ridge settlement

Fair Housing Act, Litigation, Politics and policy, Regulation and compliance /

Key insight: Eight civil rights nonprofits have urged a federal court to reject a proposed settlement between the Department of Justice and developer Colony Ridge, arguing an immigration enforcement clause in the settlement is “unlawful.”  What’s at stake: The underlying lawsuit targeted a “foreclosure mill” that sold undeveloped, flood-prone land to Hispanic buyers at 10%

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Credit diverges: Jumbo rises, FHA slips

Servicing, Underwriting /

Government loan performance issues prompted tighter underwriting in the past month but credit availability expanded in other parts of the market, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association analysis. Processing Content Availability in the jumbo sector, which includes loans made outside of the regulatory definition for a standard “qualified mortgage,” expanded 2.9%, the Mortgage Credit Availability

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Newrez, Pennymac, Rate roll out fresh offerings

Mortgage Rates, Originations, Title insurance, Underwriting /

Newrez, Pennymac and Rate are rolling out new products that signal a flurry of activity across the mortgage market. Processing Content The timing might be coincidental for most of these announcements, but loanDepot’s announcement it was restarting wholesale production has changed the competitive landscape for the wholesale sector in particular. Newrez has title insurance alternative

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Onity rebrands PHH Mortgage to align with parent company

Industry News, Originations /

Less than two years after parent company, Onity Group, undertook its own rebranding initiative, its lending unit PHH Mortgage is taking the same name.  Processing Content The West Palm Beach, Florida-based company announced plans to rename the home lender and servicer with the intent of providing continuity and consistency across businesses. Onity Mortgage will adopt

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Existing-home sales increase as affordability improves

Home Prices, Housing Inventory, Originations /

Sales of previously owned US homes unexpectedly rose in February and the prior month was revised up, helped by a decline in mortgage rates and modest growth in asking prices. Processing Content Contract closings increased 1.7% to a 4.09 million annualized rate, according to National Association of Realtors data released Tuesday. The pace exceeded nearly

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Ackman’s Pershing Square seeks up to $10 billion in NYSE IPO

Capital markets /

Bill Ackman is returning to the IPO market with a combined offering for his hedge fund manager and a new closed-end fund, the latest move in the billionaire’s long campaign to expand his asset management empire to public market investors.  Processing Content The initial public offering for Pershing Square USA Ltd., the closed-end fund, would

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