Subprime wholesaler Equifirst confirmed today that it will cut jobs amid what many expect to be long-term downturn in the non-conforming mortgage market. Per Bloomberg: Barclays Plc’s EquiFirst subprime lending unit will cut jobs in the U.S., following rivals in firing staff amid rising defaults … “This is an EquiFirst-made decision in response to the contraction of the [...]

American Banker reports on something that’s been widely discussed behind the scenes late Friday and today (and was mentioned by commenter Patrick last week as well): Wachovia Corp. waived certain covenants with subprime lender NovaStar Financial Inc. in order to overlook a recent servicer downgrade by Moody’s Investors Service. Wachovia Corp., the principal short-term creditor for [...]

The NAR’s existing home data for July is out today, and it shows a flat-to-declining sales volume trend, what appears to be a declining price trend, and evidence of a jump in housing supply. Sales volume slipped 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.75 million units in July from an upwardly revised pace [...]

(August 27, 2007) — Kroll Factual Data and eMagic announced the availability of Kroll Factual Data’s mortgage credit reporting services through eMagic’s online platform.

Fitch Ratings said late Friday that it has downgraded various servicer ratings associated with GMAC Mortgage, GMAC-RFC, and Homecomings Financial — all ResCap business units — and placed each servicer on negative ratings watch for further downgrades. GMAC Mortgage downgrades are summarized here. GMAC-RFC and Homecomings downgrades are summarized here. All three servicers are on negative [...]

Insurers who underwrite the liability of major financial institutions are preparing for a new rash of claims, according to an report appearing in the current edition of BestWeek. A sneak peek from this morning’s press summary: At least 10 securities class actions have been filed thus far, and that number is likely to grow, according to Jill [...]

From Jonathan Lansner’s blog over at the Orange County Register comes a scenario that I’d expect is being replayed in many other key markets throughout the United States — housing inventories have increased in the past two to three weeks, combined with a literal freefall in selling pace. The result is homes that are going to [...]

A growing chorus of regulators and consumer activists were joined this past week by PIMCO’s Bill Gross in calling for a borrower bailout. It’s sort of like listening to the same song in different keys: some say the Fed has to begin slashing rates, some say the GSE portfolio caps need to be lifted, and [...]

Get thee to court: Wachovia Corporation’s exposure to the mortgage mess is getting plenty of attention today — perhaps the most interesting item is a Wall Street Journal story that says that the nation’s fourth-largest bank is suing Thornburg Mortgage for $5.1 million: Wachovia Corp.’s banking unit has sued Thornburg Mortgage Inc., alleging the mortgage provider [...]

Sales of new homes jumped unexpectedly during July, beating analyst estimates by a long shot. Sales volume was still down relative to year-ago levels, however — a comparison that HW readers know I place more weight on. From the Commerce Department: Sales of new one-family houses in July 2007 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of [...]