James Kleimann of The Real Deal joins HousingWire

James Kleimann is joining HousingWire as Mortgage Editor to help the company sharpen coverage in housing finance, while also expanding into other housing verticals like real estate, title/escrow and appraisal. Working alongside HousingWire Editor in Chief Sarah Wheeler, Kleimann will spearhead the editorial strategy for housing coverage on HousingWire.com.  “We’re

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Is the FHFA about to delay the refi fee?

According to reporting by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has been communicating with mortgage industry groups about delaying the implementation of a fee which would add a 0.5% surcharge to refinance mortgages sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac starting Sept. 1. According to

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Fed purchases of agency MBS total $892 billion

Five months after restarting a bond-buying program last used in the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve has purchased about $892 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities, according to a Fed blog post on Thursday. The asset-buying has helped to drive mortgage financing costs to the lowest level ever recorded, with the

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People movers: Home Point Financial, Zumper, Total Expert and NAR

Home Point Financial has named Perry Hilzendeger as its president of servicing. A 30-year veteran in the consumer finance and mortgage industry, Hilzendeger will be assisting in the company’s growth, responsible for leading the mortgage servicing team and delivering customer experience. Before he joined Home Point Financial, Hilzendeger was at

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U.S. home sales and median price soar to a record in July

Existing-home sales jumped 25% in July from June, beating the prior record of a 21% gain set a month earlier, as low mortgage rates fueled demand for real estate. Sales of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops rose to a seasonally adjusted 5.86 million, the National Association of Realtors said

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