SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwire - October 5, 2007) — Mortgage Net Branch News -- Mortgage Net Branch Opportunities Proliferate as FHA Volume Rises - The subprime mortgage meltdown has left many mortgage originators in need of a source of funds for their borrowers with less than prime credit. Mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration are increasingly filling that gap, but getting through government requirements to obtain FHA lender approval remains arduous.
To avoid dealing with these requirements alone, many of the 50,000 displaced mortgage professionals are seeking mortgage net branch opportunities, and several such companies are being created to meet this demand. By operating under the umbrella of a net branch company, originators can take advantage of the parent company's back-end support. Services typically include accounting, marketing, underwriting, shipping, and closing; more importantly, net branch companies often have the skilled professionals, the necessary licensing, and the asset requirements necessary to originate FHA loans . read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 3, 2007) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 29. This week’s results include an adjustment to account for the Christmas holiday. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 575.6, an increase of 3.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 555.8 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index decreased 27.4 percent compared with the previous week and was up 6.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The Refinance Index increased by 2.2 percent to 1640.4 from 1604.6 the previous week and the seasonally adjusted Purchase Index increased by 4.3 percent to 406.9 from 390.2 one week earlier. The seasonally adjusted Conventional Index increased by 3.8 percent to 857.3 from 826.1 the previous week, and the seasonally adjusted Government Index increased 0.7 percent to 106.1 from 105.4 the previous week. read more


WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 13, 2006) — The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 8. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 721.2, an increase of 11.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 647.6 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 10.2 percent compared with the previous week and was up 22.2 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The Market Index is at its highest level since October 2005. “The substantial decline in mortgage rates over the past six months, greater than 80 basis points in total, has led to a significant increase in refinance activity. Additionally, we are seeing a steady increase in purchase applications,” said Mike Fratantoni, Senior Economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. read more


Washington, D.C. (December 11, 2006) – The issues surrounding insurance availability and affordability have necessitated commercial servicers to take a new look at the requirements and enforceability of insurance coverage in commercial real estate transactions. While ensuring that the underlying real estate supporting commercial real estate finance transactions have insurance coverage remains the top priority for servicers, the lack of availability and affordability in some markets has created pressure on the industry to utilize force placed insurance as a backstop. Force placed insurance is insurance coverage obtained by a lender to protect its security interest in a property where the borrower is unable to renew existing coverage. To that end, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released Due Diligence for Force Placed Insurance. The purpose of this White Paper is to provide the servicing industry with an informative look at the due diligence process for force placed insurance, as it relates to commercial real estate, in making a determination whether or not to force place insurance. read more


WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 6, 2006) — , The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 1. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 647.6, an increase of 8.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 599 one week earlier. On an unadjusted basis, the Index increased 52 percent compared with the previous week and was up 1.9 percent compared with the same week one year earlier. The seasonally adjusted Refinance Index increased by 13.7 percent to 1989.7 from 1749.6 the previous week and the Purchase Index increased by 4.9 percent to 426.6 from 406.7 one week earlier. The seasonally adjusted Conventional Index increased by 8.6 percent to 964.7 from 888.6 the previous week, and the seasonally adjusted Government Index increased 2.5 percent to 119 from 116.1 the previous week. Application volume this week is back up to the level observed two weeks before Thanksgiving. read more


WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 27, 2006) — The most significant factors impacting housing over the coming years are whether aging baby boomers decide to grow old where they are and where young immigrants decide to settle, according to a new study released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association. The study, “America’s Regional Demographics in the ‘00s Decade: The Role of Seniors, Boomers and New Minorities,” conducted by William H. Frey of the Brookings Institution and sponsored by the MBA’s Research Institute for Housing America (RIHA), analyzes two components driving the changes that will transform the U.S. population over the next several decades — aging boomers, and immigration of Hispanics and Asians. It finds that the overall U.S. population will experience a rapid aging as boomers grow older, while absorbing large numbers of young recent immigrants. Different regions of the country will have different demands for housing driven by the relative impacts of aging in place versus migration within the country and immigration from abroad. For example, suburban areas will gray faster than urban areas due to the boomers aging in place. read more


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