Real estate

Readers react to President Trump considering a credit union regulator to head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, debate a delay for top banking nominees, opine on the value of blockchain, and more.

The maximum loan amount for Federal Housing Administration mortgages will go up in more than 3,000 counties for 2018.

Conforming loan limits for mortgages bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase for the second consecutive year in response to the rapid rise in home prices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

The CFPB's practice of "regulation by enforcement" forces mortgage companies to develop compliance standards based on the mistakes of their peers, rather than clear guidance from the enforcement agency, said David Motley, the new chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Quaint Oak in Pennsylvania is making a big push in real estate brokerage, a business that many state-chartered banks might think is illegal for them to pursue.

With Hurricane Harvey rapidly making its way toward the Texas coast, lenders and servicers have activated business continuity plans to accommodate pending transactions and provide options and support to existing borrowers affected by the storm.

He is, by Wall Street standards, a small-time banker. But in 2014, with Donald Trump eyeing a run at the White House, Stephen Calk stepped into the big-money world of New York real estate — and a network of Trump associates.

As real estate loans continue to be a key product, CUs are investing in personnel focused on these offerings.

Traditional partnerships with lenders have been eroded by compliance strains and new incentives to control more of the homebuying transaction.

A new tariff on Canadian lumber threatens to further disrupt homebuilding at a time when lenders are increasingly concerned about a purchase mortgage resurgence that has failed to materialize.

Bank of the West is using alternative data and the international expertise of its parent company to tap into the lucrative but difficult to underwrite market of middle- and upper-class immigrant mortgage borrowers.

The time needed to close a mortgage improved nine days since the start of the year as the market has shifted to doing more purchase loans.

After years of sitting on the sidelines of the housing market, a growing population of millennials has begun to embrace the financial benefits of owning a home.

After years of sitting on the sidelines of the housing market, a growing population of millennials has begun to embrace the financial benefits of owning a home.

Millennial homeowners are more likely to be current and future users of home equity lines of credit than either Gen-Xers or baby boomers.

Industry critics argue the Invitation Homes deal will create new risks for Fannie Mae and remove affordable inventory from homebuyers.

While the inventory of new and existing homes is tight, competition for smaller homes is heating up as aging baby boomers are down-sizing and selling their residences.