Thu, Jun 25 2015, 10:30 AM
Aside
from a few memorable blips, rates have basically trended down in the
United States since 1982 until a year or two ago. What else has been
...
Wed, Jun 24 2015, 3:42 PM
Free
DU? You bet - Fannie couldn't let Freddie offer LP at no charge and not
respond. "Beginning June 1, Fannie Mae will align DU and Desktop
Or...
Tue, Jun 23 2015, 10:28 AM
History
lesson anyone? In the spring of 1861 the state convention in Richmond,
Virginia declared secession. Nearly all delegates from counties wes...
Mon, Jun 22 2015, 9:46 AM
Hopefully
all the dads out there had fun Sunday. The U.S. Census Bureau tells us
in 2008 there were 70.1 million fathers in the U.S. and in 2014 2...
Fri, Jun 19 2015, 10:47 AM
The
Census Bureau reports that as of Q1, the percentage of Americans who
own their homes fell to the lowest level in 20Ys (to 63.8%). Tighter
le...
Thu, Jun 18 2015, 10:13 AM
The National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) has published its 2015 report identifying the top 250 Latino mortgage origina...
Tue, Jun 16 2015, 11:41 AM
How 'bout California Governor Jerry Brown stealing money (ok, "inappropriately diverting") from of the Homeowner's Fund?
For upcoming events...
...
Mon, Jun 15 2015, 10:21 AM
A
recent MBA "Chart of the Week" bears repeating since it reminds us just
how much a borrower pays for a home loan when it closes. (Think about ...
Fri, Jun 12 2015, 10:45 AM
Every
once in a while someone will ask me about mortgage origination numbers,
like does anyone count the number of loans made? Sure - read through...
Thu, Jun 11 2015, 10:36 AM
A recent MBA "Chart of the Week" highlights the change in the number of
households by age from 2004 to 2014. Household formation was negative
fo...
Wed, Jun 10 2015, 10:43 AM
Yes, TRID is impacting lending, and thus borrowers. Wells Fargo's correspondent group announced the end of its "Single Close Construction" program...
Tue, Jun 9 2015, 11:37 AM
A survey of 16 big global lenders revealed that the total bill for legal matters has hit $300 billion .
Yesterday
the commentary mentioned...
Mon, Jun 8 2015, 10:25 AM
According
to the U.S. Census Bureau, 21.3 percent of the American population
(52.2 million people) participated in government assistance programs ...
Fri, Jun 5 2015, 10:28 AM
Huh? National Donut Day? Most donut shops have a few employees, but in 2013 our Census Bureau tells us there were 23 million businesses without paid ...
Thu, Jun 4 2015, 10:54 AM
"I
swear, if my memory was any worse I could plan my own surprise party."
Remember when you were a student? Research from the Fed finds total
st...
Wed, Jun 3 2015, 11:01 AM
There
is plenty of dialog and discussion in the lending industry. Certainly some of the conversation
involves the fact that, for the popular pres...
Tue, Jun 2 2015, 10:45 AM
Some
in the industry are focused on Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf's recent
comments saying that cybersecurity and an evolving payments industry are
...
Mon, Jun 1 2015, 10:14 AM
When I grow up I want to be wealthy. And thanks to this list of the wealthiest zip codes in America ,
I know just where to move. (Interesting to co...
Fri, May 29 2015, 10:52 AM
According
to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are now ten cities that have a
population of greater than 1 million with California and Texas each home...
Thu, May 28 2015, 10:32 AM
The
Census Bureau tell us that there were 23 million businesses without
paid employees, or non-employer businesses, in the United States in
2013...
Wed, May 27 2015, 3:45 PM
"There
are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who
learn by observation. The rest of them have to piddle on the electric
...
Tue, May 26 2015, 10:43 AM
Pew Research
finds Millennials (18 to 34 years old) have now surpassed Gen X as the
largest generation in the workforce. Millennials reached 53.5m...
Fri, May 22 2015, 11:22 AM
Yes,
I know it is the Friday before a 3-day weekend, after which it is okay
to wear white shoes to formal events. (And yes, there will be a
comm...
Thu, May 21 2015, 10:41 AM
Hundreds
of capital markets folks have returned, bleary-eyed, to their roosts
around the country. Unfortunately, as Cantor Fitzgerald's Dave Gottf...
Wed, May 20 2015, 10:36 AM
Lots
of folks here in New York were interested in Freddie Mac bumping its
2015 residential volume estimate to $1.35 trillion*, the upcoming
ho...
Tue, May 19 2015, 11:41 AM
There
are 1,700 capital markets folks wandering around Manhattan, and one of
the topics is that one week Janet Yellen and other Fed officials are ...
Mon, May 18 2015, 9:40 AM
The
last seven days has involved a little travel for me: Oregon, Incline
Village in Nevada, and now Manhattan for the MBA's Secondary Marketing
...
Fri, May 15 2015, 10:43 AM
The NMLS has commenced a study on the role of a MLO -
besides being at the receiving end of jokes about AARP in the
workplace. All kidding aside,...
Thu, May 14 2015, 10:17 AM
Quicken Loans, besides raising $1.25 billion in debt (leaving folks wondering if that is what attorneys to fight HUD & the DOJ cost these days), rel...
Wed, May 13 2015, 10:47 AM
In
1963 President John F. Kennedy designated May as Senior Citizens Month
and then in 1980 President Jimmy Carter changed the name to Older Ameri...
Tue, May 12 2015, 10:46 AM
I
am attending a conference in Oregon and yesterday someone asked me,
"Rob, have you heard of the MBA doing something to educate anyone in
schoo...
Mon, May 11 2015, 10:52 AM
Taking a quick look at what people are doing with their money, just 14% of American households own individual stocks,
according to Federal Reserve d...
Fri, May 8 2015, 10:11 AM
According
to the MBA's Quarterly Index of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers
Originations for the first quarter of 2015, the YoY origination ...
Thu, May 7 2015, 10:59 AM
For aging LOs and real estate agents, a report by Genworth Financial
finds the median bill for 1 year in a nursing home is now $91,250 vs.
$87...
Wed, May 6 2015, 12:47 PM
I
received this note from a veteran LO in a western state. "I was talking
with a top-producing Realtor on broker tour this week. Unlike too many
...
Tue, May 5 2015, 10:38 AM
I
grew up with a lock on my locker in school. Every once in a while
someone would have their combination stolen and locker broken into. Or
at le...
Mon, May 4 2015, 9:53 AM
By
now the remains of the pizza lunches for everyone working OT to deliver
a successful April have been cleared away, and lenders are optimistic
...
Fri, May 1 2015, 10:57 AM
Today
is Lei Day in Hawai'i. I guess Zillow doesn't consider Honolulu a "Metro Area".
Recently Zillow Research analyzed property taxes in the "la...
Thu, Apr 30 2015, 10:43 AM
I
travel around a fair amount, spending time with lenders, Realtors, and
TSA personnel. A major concern among the first two groups is whether or
...
Wed, Apr 29 2015, 10:39 AM
First
off, let me apologize for having the incorrect site in yesterday's
commentary regarding the funny history of the term "escrow" - this is th...
Mon, Apr 27 2015, 9:07 AM
Many LOs are watching rent prices . Increasing
rent is a two-edged sword, of course, simultaneously moving households
to stop renting and buy a p...
Fri, Apr 24 2015, 9:55 AM
Filling key positions in our industry is not
an easy task sometimes, but as one banking vet I know likes to say,
"give me someone with a little bi...
Thu, Apr 23 2015, 9:58 AM
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that nearly 10 percent of U.S.
residents are not happy with their current housing, neighborhood, local
safety or p...
Wed, Apr 22 2015, 10:59 AM
Earth Day is celebrated on April 22 nd and this year marks the 45 th
anniversary. Leave it to the Census Bureau
(known as "The Bureau with a ca...
Tue, Apr 21 2015, 10:25 AM
True
or false: "Unnecessary regulatory burdens are preventing qualified,
credit-worthy borrowers from obtaining the American Dream of
homeowners...
Mon, Apr 20 2015, 9:31 AM
There is a lot going on in terms of upcoming events. In no particular order...
Due to the high demand, Genworth has grown its live RESPA-TILA we...
Fri, Apr 17 2015, 10:48 AM
Since inflation doesn't exist much anymore in the economy, how about in your garage ? Detroit has plenty of empty garages and so the city announced a...
Thu, Apr 16 2015, 10:03 AM
Try
saying PSDS without sounding like you're from Boston saying "pierced
ears". And 3,100 miles away, in California, the latest report echoes
wh...
Wed, Apr 15 2015, 10:32 AM
Yesterday
we had plenty of CFPB updates , and let's continue with those. Remember
that even though although your bank or mortgage operation is th...
Tue, Apr 14 2015, 11:26 AM
As a reminder, many in the industry know that as of April 1 new rates kicked in under the National Flood Insurance Program . Policy premiums increas...