Someone is always upset when they are left off of some list, but Owners.com, a national brokerage, has published the top 25 metro areas by home price changes from August-September 2014 compared with August-September 2015. The data found that the price for a three-bedroom single-family home in Denver, CO increased nearly 12%, followed by Orlando, FL and Miami, FL at 11.6 percent and 11 percent, respectively. (Contrast that with the price for a three-bedroom family home in the New York metropolitan area into New Jersey and Pennsylvania dropping 6.7 percent.) Other metro areas that round out the top ten in price increases include Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV, Boston-Cambridge, MA, Portland, OR, Pittsburg, PA, Nashville, TN and Tampa, FL. (Don't ask me what happened to San Francisco.)

Originators or aggregators are usually looking for new products to expand their repertoire. SG Capital Partners, a rapidly growing investor with significant assets under management, has seen growing traction with its diverse range of products in the Non-Agency/Non-QM and Non-Prime space. SGCP recently redesigned its "Investor Access" product which is a simplified product for real estate investors focused on LTV and borrower credit. Guides allow for loan amounts up to $2 million at 75% LTV, with 3/1 & 5/1 options available. SG's products permit loan amounts designed to capture MSAs throughout the country. To learn more about this product or SG Capital's other offerings, please contact: SGCPConduitSales.

Have you ever heard of Caivers? Me neither, but thanks to Nick S. for passing along the name of the company that is the reporting agency the FHA or VA would report to when they file a claim for payment - and that is when the clock starts ticking.

What About the FHA Loan Limits?The FHA's "floor" and "high cost" loan limits are based on the baseline loan limit for the GSEs. Specifically, the FHA's conforming loan limit "floor" and "high cost ceiling" are 65% and 150%, respectively, of the GSE baseline loan limit. We expect the FHA to announce its 2016 loan limit decision in December, which will include some county-level differences, but will remain within the same bands as 2015.

The MBA's Chart of the Week for November 13thshowcased VA purchase loan share and loan size. The chart suggests an increase in the VA's share of purchase loan application in 2015. Starting in March of this year, VA's share of purchase applications grew from 10 percent to roughly 12 percent, maintaining that average throughout the rest of the year. The average loan size for a VA purchase loan was $247,000 in 2015, up from $232,000 in 2014.

FHA has added temporary approval provisions for condominium project approval, effective immediately. The mortgagee letter provides a revised calculation for FHA required owner-occupancy percentage, to allow units that are not investor-owned to be considered owner occupied for the purpose of Condo approval. For multi-phased projects, the owner-occupancy percentage is calculated on the total number of units in the first declared phase and cumulatively on subsequent phases or for single-phase condominium project approval requests, all units are used in the denominator when calculating required owner-occupancy percentage. The mortgagee letter also identifies the expansion of eligible insurance coverage, as the HOA is required to maintain adequate "master" or "blanket" property insurance in an amount equal to 100% of current replacement cost of the condominium exclusive of land, foundation, excavation and other items normally excluded from coverage. Additionally, the mortgagee letter addresses the requirements for obtaining condominium project recertification.

The latest Black Knight Mortgage Monitor is out, and it takes a look at the high LTV loan universe. FHA has become the go-to high LTV loan product, and their high LTV loans account for 77% of FHA / VA origination. Fannie and Freddie did about 1% in high LTV loans. So it appears that the government sponsored enterprises'' (GSEs) introduction of 97 percent loan-to-value (LTV) mortgages, implemented by Fannie Mae' in late 2014 and by Freddie Mac in the spring of 2015, has apparently done little damage to the government guarantee sector's dominance in that market place. Low down payment lending, that is mortgages with a 95 percent or higher LTV ratio, were up 20 percent in the third quarter of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014 while the overall purchase market expanded by only 13 percent.

VA's November circular states effective immediately, lenders may accept a Veteran's assertion of spousal status when a Veteran is applying for home loan benefits. Read the details here.

The VALERI Servicer newsflash for December 4, 2015 contains information regarding, New Net Value. New Maximum Allowable Foreclosure Timeframes, Circular 26-15-30, Title Documentation of HOA Matters in Florida, Pre-Approval Procedures, VALERI Reports, Deficiency Waiver Letter and development updates for VALERI 3.7 manifest release scheduled for Saturday, December 12, 2015. To view the information, click the Servicer Newsflash December 4, 2015.pdf.