The FHA Short Refinance option was announced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The option is available on owner-occupied transactions with case numbers issued on or after Sept. 7.

To qualify, the mortgage must close by Dec. 31, 2012.

The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. expects to hire more than 200 new mortgage employees, a spokesman told Mortgage Daily.

The new jobs are being added in Jacksonville, Fla., he said.

The positions are for PNC's mortgage servicing operation.

SIOUX FALLS, SD - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan traveled to a Native American community in South Dakota today to announce $65 million in available funding to support a variety of community development and affordable housing production in Indian country throughout the U.S. Donovan made the announcement following a tour of the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota with Senator Tim Johnson.

Five years ago, one of the most destructive natural disasters in our nation's history hit the Gulf Coast. When they hit the coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita took thousands of lives, displaced millions of residents, wiped out hundreds of square miles of coastal land, and inflicted major damage to nearly 300,000 homes.

Mortgage rates have held fairly steady since the middle of last week.

A note, sent yesterday, from a reader named Matthew.