Restrictions Tighten As Mortgage Rates Drop As mortgage rates drop, it not all good news for homeowners. Many may lack the credit scores they need to take advantage of the historic low rates. Full Story

Home Price Declines Worsen As We Enter the Fourth Quarter of 2008 Data through October 2008, released by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, shows continued broad based declines in the prices of existing single family homes across the United States, with 14 of the 20 metro areas showing record rates of annual decline and 14 now reporting declines in excess of 10% versus October 2007. Full Story

Recession is Getting Stronger as Application Volume Surges Government data confirms the economic recession is getting stronger. Consumer spending is down. Durable good orders fall again. Mortgage applications continue to surge. US bank Regulators are close to a deal to sell IndyMac. Full Story

Brokers File Lawsuit Over RESPA Rule The National Association of Mortgage Brokers filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after it recently issued the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Final Rule issued November 17, 2008. NAMB argues that the Final Rule is in violation of law, finalized on a flawed consumer testing methodology, and will have a detrimental impact on small businesses consequently having a negative affect on consumers. Full Story

Streamlined Modification Program Now Available to Borrowers Fannie Mae said that the Streamlined Modification Program announced by the Federal Housing Finance Agency in November is now available to Fannie Mae servicers and borrowers as an option to help prevent foreclosures. Full Story

Economists Predict Worst Recession Since 1930s Will End in Second Half of 2009 What is shaping up as the deepest and longest recession since the 1930s will end in the second half of 2009, Wells Fargo’s senior economists predicted during the company’s annual economic forecast teleconference. Full Story

Mortgage Brokerage Owner Sentenced in Connection with Mortgage Fraud Scheme Gohar J. Mirza was sentenced to 63 months in prison, followed by a term of three years supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $3,000,000 in restitution for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme Full Story

A New Year Requires a New Plan By Scott Messina As any successful businessperson knows, it's vital to have a well thought out plan for success – or a roadmap if you will – for the next year. It's wise to begin this process by looking back and documenting your results in 2008. Did you meet your production goals? What were the challenges you faced? How can you improve in 2009? Full Story

The Mortgage Market This Week Monday, January 05, 2009 Mortgage Market Live With 2008 now in the rear view mirror, we can begin to look ahead to what's in store for rates in 2009. The first full week of trading boasts the all important Jobs Report which is due out on Friday and will likely impact rates for several weeks to come. After last months loss of over a half a million jobs, all eyes will be focused on this month's report. So how will rates react? Read on to find out. Full Story

Mortgage Applications Little Changed In Latest MBA Weekly Survey Wednesday, December 31, 2008 The Mortgage Bankers Association released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending December 26, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 1245.7, essentially unchanged, on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1245.4 one week earlier. This week's results included an adjustment to account for the shortened week due to the Christmas holiday. Full Story

Long-Term Rates Fall For Ninth Consecutive Week Wednesday, December 31, 2008 Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.10 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending December 31, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 5.14 percent. Full Story

CampusMBA to Partner with Radian Guaranty to Provide Loss Mitigation Training for Servicer Customers Monday, January 05, 2009 Mortgage Bankers Association CampusMBA announced a partnership with Radian Guaranty to provide training on loss mitigation techniques and services for Radian's customers. Full Story

MBA Chairman Kittle Announces John A. Courson as President and Chief Executive Officer Monday, January 05, 2009 Mortgage Bankers Association David G. Kittle, CMB, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association announced the appointment of John A. Courson, as MBA's President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1. Full Story

Lenders One, DocMagic Partner for Mortgage Loan Fulfillment Monday, January 05, 2009 Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative has developed a partnership with Document Systems Inc. to provide cooperative members with preferred pricing of DocMagic’s fully compliant initial disclosures and closing documents. Full Story

Federal Reserve Announces Details of Program to Purchase Mortgage-Backed Securities Friday, January 02, 2009 The Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve announced that it expects to begin operations in early January under the previously announced program to purchase mortgage-backed securities and that it has selected private investment managers to act as its agents in implementing the program. Full Story

Freddie Mac Names Raymond G. Romano as Chief Credit Officer Monday, December 29, 2008 Freddie Mac Freddie Mac named Raymond G. Romano as the company's chief credit officer, a position that is responsible for enterprise-wide credit risk management activities. Full Story