Consumer Advocates: HECMs Need Revisions to Prevent Defaults
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:48:00 -0500
Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) and reverse mortgages, tools to which many seniors turn to help manage expenses in their later years, can be challenging products to navigate, according to testimonies delivered during a Senate committee hearing Tuesday morning. While the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) considers changes to the HECM program, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs held a hearing to determine the best path forward for the program.

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CFPB to Grow Staff Over Next Two Years to Meet Goals
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:27:00 -0500
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to grow its staff in order to meet its strategic goals and stay in compliance with its mandate to protect consumers, according to a written testimony from Stephen Agostini, CFO at the bureau. Agostini, who gave testimony before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday, stated that over the next two fiscal years, CFPB expects its staff to increase from 1,214 employees in the Fiscal Year 2013 to 1,545 employees in 2014.

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ServiceLink Unveils MERS Reconciliation and Resolution Program
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:39:00 -0500
ServiceLink, an end-to-end origination, servicing and default solutions provider for mortgage lenders and servicers, introduced a program to monitor and manage data from the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS).

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Commercial, Multifamily Debt Declines in Q1
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:18:00 -0500
Commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding decreased for the first time in five quarters during the first quarter of this year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The 0.2 percent decline, which translated to $4.9 billion, left the nation's total commercial and multifamily mortgage debt at $2.41 trillion at the end of the quarter.

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Rising Rates Will Reduce Demand, but Won't Eliminate Affordability
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:53:00 -0500
The increase in mortgage rates coupled with rising home prices may dampen demand, but the recent upward movement in rates is not enough to make housing unaffordable to median income earners, according to Freddie Mac's economic and housing outlook for June. In fact, the GSE's analysis showed mortgage rates would have to climb to nearly 7 percent before a median priced home is no longer affordable to median income earners in most parts of the country.

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Institutions Face Greater Regulatory, Risk Management Pressures
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:33:00 -0500
From new regulations to increasing fines, financial institutions--both large and small--reported feeling more squeezed by compliance and risk management pressures since the start of the year, according to survey results from Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. In January, the Indicator began with a baseline score of 100 after the company surveyed 400 banks and credit unions. After surveying 430 similar institutions in April, Wolters Kluwer Financial Services reported a score of 136.

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Single-Family Starts Flat Despite Confidence Surge
Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:29:00 -0500
One day after the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported the sharpest boost in builder confidence in seven years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported single-family starts were essentially flat in May, increasing just 0.3 percent. The Census/HUD report Tuesday showed total starts improved 6.8 percent in May, while total permits fell 3.1 percent.

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Firefly Legal Supervisor Appointed Treasurer of ILAPPS
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:38:00 -0500
Firefly Legal, a nationwide civil process service company, announced Randy Mucha, the company's civil process supervisor, was named treasurer of the Illinois Association of Professional Process Servers (ILAPPS).

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Fed Report: Housing Market in Texas Poised for Growth
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:51:00 -0500
The steady influx of out-of-state transplants, along with stronger than average employment growth, should keep the housing and apartment sectors in Texas strong, a report from the Dallas Federal Reserve concluded. Using data from the Census Bureau, the report authors D'Ann Petersen and Christina Daly pointed out that Texas is the No. 1 state for domestic in-migration. From July 2011 to July 2012, the Long Star state saw a net 140,888 new arrivals when excluding births or international migration.

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Home Prices, Sales Spike in 19 Major Metros in May
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:29:00 -0500
Gains in home prices and sales surged in May, while inventory increased for the second straight month, according to Redfin. In May, home prices surged 17.4 percent year-over-year, while prices in all 19 markets tracked showed yearly gains. At the same time, home sales climbed by 15.8 percent from April to May, reaching their highest level since January 2010. Although for-sale housing inventory decreased 21.9 percent year-over-year, Redfin reported inventory inched up by 4.3 percent from April to May.

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NTC Encourages Widespread Adoption of eRecording
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:29:00 -0500
As the industry continues to adapt to new regulations and best practices, electronic recording--eRecording--is taking hold as a way to streamline the records process and free up resources at lending and servicing offices, according to Palm Harbor, Florida-based Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. The volume of documents recorded electronically by NTC over the past year has grown from 10 percent to 45 percent. According to NTC, 840 jurisdictions have approved eRecording for mortgage documents thus far.

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New Online Freddie Mac Tool Helps Homeowners Navigate Relief Options
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:07:00 -0500
For homeowners facing a financial hardship, sometimes it can be difficult to know exactly what options might be available. To help homeowners get a better idea of what is out there, Freddie Mac released the Mortgage Help Navigator, a new online tool that assists homeowners with finding out what relief options might be applicable for them in their specific situation.

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Report: Risk of Mortgage Default at Lowest Level in Nearly 10 Years
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 10:23:00 -0500
The risk of default for more recently originated mortgages is close to levels seen 10 years ago, according to the findings from the University Financial Associates (UFA) of Ann Arbor, Michigan. In the second quarter of this year, the UFA Default Risk Index stood at 106, up from 97 in the previous quarter. Between 2006 and 2008, the index peaked well above 200. "These readings on the Index are the lowest in almost 10 years, but we may not be able to declare the mortgage crisis over yet," said Dennis Capozza, business professor at the University of Michigan and a founding principal of UFA.

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Builder Confidence Surges to 7-Year High in June
Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:56:00 -0500
Builder confidence surged eight points in June to 52, its highest reading since March 2006, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reported Monday. It was the first positive (above 50) reading for the association’s Housing Market Index (HMI) since April 2006. Two of the three components of the index--builder assessment of current sales and of sales six months in the future--were also positive. The current sales index rose eight points to 56, and the future sales index jumped nine points to 61.

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Wells Fargo Borrowers Pay off $50M in Principal Using Home Rebate Card
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:00:00 -0500
Wells Fargo's Home Rebate Card has allowed its mortgage customers to pay down a total of $50 million from their loan balances so far.

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OCC: 2.7M Foreclosure Review Checks Cashed Out of the 3.9M Sent
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:25:00 -0500
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced more than 2.7 million foreclosure review checks have been cashed or deposited as of June 13. The cashed checks are valued at $2.4 billion and are part of a foreclosure review settlement reached between federal regulators and 13 servicers.

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Commentary: Eminent Digression
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:20:00 -0500
In a newly published paper posted on the New York Federal Reserve website, Robert Hockett, a Cornell University professor of financial and monetary law, proposes using government's eminent domain authority as a solution to underwater mortgage debt. In reviewing Hockett's suggestion, the Wall Street Journal concentrated not on the idea itself, but on the fact that Hockett "turns out to have been on the payroll of none other than Mortgage Resolution Partners." There may be a lot of good reasons to discard Hockett's suggestion, but his past relationships are not among them. His idea deserves a fair hearing, not a digression.

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Median Home Price in California at Highest Level Since April 2008
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:29:00 -0500
In May, the median price for a home in California rose year-over-year for the 15th straight month, climbing to highest level since April 2008, DataQuick reported. At $340,000, the median price was up 4.9 percent from April and up 25.9 percent from May 2012.

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Xactware Releases New Version of Repair Cost Estimator Tool
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:45:00 -0500
Xactware, based in Orem, Utah, rolled out a new version of its repair cost estimator, XactPRM. The tool is a cloud-based application that assists with estimating and managing costs related to property preservation repairs.

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Ocwen Agrees to Buy $78B in MSRs from OneWest
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:51:00 -0500
Ocwen Loan Servicing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ocwen Financial Corporation, has entered into an agreement to purchase $78 billion in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) from OneWest Bank. According to a filing made with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the aggregate purchase price for the MSRs will be approximately $2.53 billion, with $446 million paid in respect of the MSRs and approximately $2.1 billion to be paid in respect of the servicing advances.

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Are Mortgage Rates Too Low to Threaten the Recovery?
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 10:31:00 -0500
The recent rise in mortgage rates is not enough to pose any real threat to the housing recovery, but that's not to say the increase doesn't come with any risk, according to a recent analysis from Capital Economics. To put things into perspective, Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Economics, noted that on a long-term view, rates are still "exceptionally low" as they return to levels seen in late 2011 and early 2012. However, 18 months ago, when mortgage rates hovered around the levels seen today, "house prices were at best flat, if not still edging lower, while the recovery in housing sales was very much in its infancy," Capital Economics stated.

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Foreclosure Sales in West Down in May; Likely to Increase in June
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:12:00 -0500
Foreclosure sales decreased in all five Western states tracked by PropertyRadar--Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington--over the month of May. PropertyRadar attributes the decreases in foreclosure sales to new guidance from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The guidance established minimum standards for handling borrower files subject to a foreclosure sale within 60 days. In California, foreclosure sales from Citi were down 50 percent, and foreclosure sales from Wells Fargo were down 75 percent over the month of May in California, according to PropertyRadar.

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Fannie Mae: Economy on Path to Normal Growth
Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:49:00 -0500
The recovery should pick up the pace as it heads into the year's second half, according to Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group. Based on data for Q1 and predicted numbers for Q2, Fannie Mae expects gross domestic product (GDP) to grow at an average 1.8 percent for the first half of the year. GDP growth is then expected to push past 2.5 percent in 2014, "boosted largely by tailwinds from the strengthening housing market," said Doug Duncan, chief economist for Fannie Mae.

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Auction.com Adds Online Research Center
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:48:00 -0500
Auction.com announced the launch of an online market research division. The Auction.com Research Center provides a range of free reports based on macro, commercial, and residential research.

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Mortgage Master Opens 7th Connecticut Location
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:14:00 -0500
Mortgage Master, one of the nation's largest privately owned mortgage companies, announced the opening of a new retail branch location to serve Connecticut's Greater Hartford area.

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FHFA: GSEs Rated as 'Critical Concerns' in 2012 Report to Congress
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 12:40:00 -0500
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) labeled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as critical concerns in the composite rating category for 2012. The assessment, which was part of the agency's fifth annual Report to Congress, was unchanged from the rating assigned in 2011. In the earnings category, the GSEs were rated as "significant concerns," an upgrade from the "critical concerns" rating in 2011.

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Inventory Situation Improves in June Compared to Start of 2013
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:38:00 -0500
While the number of for-sale listings nationwide remains down from last year, June saw a promising lift compared to the start of this year, Zillow revealed in a new report. The overall number of listings on Zillow was down 12.2 percent year-over-year at the start of June, an improvement from the 17.5 percent shortfall recorded in January--in other words, Zillow explained, the inventory of for-sale homes has improved 5.3 percentage points year-to-date. Overall, annual inventory levels improved in June compared to January in 70 metros.

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Freddie Mac: Fixed Rates Climb, 30-Year Close to 4%
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 11:32:00 -0500
Mortgage rates continued to climb this week, but the near-term future is going to depend on how the Federal Reserve reacts. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.98 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending June 13, up from 3.91 percent last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.71 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.10 percent (0.7 point), up from 3.03 percent in the last survey.

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DataQuick Outlines Five Best Practices to Fight Short Sale Fraud
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 10:52:00 -0500
As long as short sales remain a common strategy to handle distressed properties, related fraudulent activity should also be expected. To help lenders, servicers, and investors develop tactics to combat the more common occurrence of short sale fraud, DataQuick outlined five solutions as starting points. The first is to understand activity levels to pinpoint markets with the greatest potential for fraud. Over the past two years, DataQuick identified 205,177 short sales in 14 of the largest counties.

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Autos Boost May Retail Sales
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:06:00 -0500
Driven by stronger auto sales but held back by falling gasoline sales, total retail sales increased 0.6 percent in May, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. Economists had expected sales to increase 0.5 percent. In April, retail sales rose 0.1 percent.

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Monthly Increase in REOs Drives Up Foreclosure Activity in May
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:46:00 -0500
After posting a 75-month low in April, foreclosure filings increased 2 percent in May, according to RealtyTrac. The rise was primarily driven by an 11 percent increase in REOs over the month. However, REOs demonstrated a 29 percent decline year-over-year in May, while foreclosure filings fell 28 percent over the same time period. "Foreclosure activity continued to bounce back in some markets where it may have appeared the foreclosure problem had been knocked out by an aggressive combination of foreclosure prevention efforts over the past two years," said Daren Blomquist, VP at RealtyTrac.

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First-Time Jobless Filings Continue Down
Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:00:00 -0500
First time claims for unemployment insurance fell to 334,000, for week ended June 8, the lowest level in a month dropping 12,000 after increasing 13,000 one week earlier the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected initial claims to increase to 350,000 from the prior week.

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Two Lawfirms File Suit Against Government for GSE Shareholders
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:08:00 -0500
Two law firms have joined to file a class action lawsuit against the United States government, alleging the government violated the Fifth Amendment when it took Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship in 2008. Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis, P.C., based in Philadelphia, and Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, based in Seattle, filed the class action suit on behalf of shareholders this week.

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Majority of Mortgage Apps Submitted During Work Hours
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:04:00 -0500
After reviewing more than 650,000 online mortgage applications sent to more than 1,100 lenders last year, Mortgage Marvel found only 15 percent of applications were submitted on weekends. A majority of those submitted on weekdays--60 percent--were submitted between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., prompting Mortgage Marvel to assume many applicants are applying while at work.

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California Leads Mortgage Fraud Risk in Q1
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:08:00 -0500
In its latest quarterly Mortgage Fraud Risk Report, Interthinx revealed first-quarter mortgage fraud risk was up 1 percent over last quarter and was unchanged from the same quarter in 2012. California was the riskiest state in the nation, boasting a mortgage fraud risk index of 125. In addition, four of the top 10 riskiest ZIP codes and five of the top 10 riskiest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs)--including Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, the top riskiest metro--call the Golden State home.

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Barclays: Bill to Liquidate GSEs Not Likely to Pass
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 13:01:00 -0500
While a new bill proposing the liquidation of the GSEs might have investors unsure about their future, analysts at Barclays insist there is little to worry about for the time being. The bill, authored by Sens. Bob Corker and Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and titled the "Secondary Mortgage Market Reform Act of 2013," represents a major bipartisan step for housing finance reform. According to a discussion draft obtained by Bloomberg, the legislation would liquidate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac within five years of its passage.

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Taylor County in Wisconsin Approves CSC as eRecording Vendor
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:54:00 -0500
The partnership expands electronic document recording services for the county, which has offered electronic document recording services since mid-2012.

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Pierce and Associates Opens Texas Office
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:33:00 -0500
Pierce and Associates, P.C. expanded its footprint into the Lone Star state with the opening of a satellite office. The new office, which is located in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex, officially opened its doors on June 10.

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FHFA: 45% of HARP Refis in Q1 Were for Underwater Borrowers
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:11:00 -0500
Refinance volume under the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) stayed strong in March even as mortgage rates rose, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Wednesday. In March, the GSEs refinanced close to 100,000 loans through HARP, bringing the program total since the 2009 inception to nearly 2.4 million, according to the FHFA. The program continued to provide relief to underwater borrowers, who accounted for nearly half of all HARP refinances in Q1.

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Subtle Discrimination Endures Over Decades in Housing Market
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:20:00 -0500
When seeking a new home, minorities face subtle discrimination that could increase costs or prolong their home search, according to a report released Tuesday by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). While HUD's report reveals a downward trend in "the most blatant forms of discrimination," such as refusing to meet with minority buyers, HUD found less obvious forms of discrimination persist. Among the types of discrimination studied, "[m]ost important, minority homeseekers are told about and shown fewer homes and apartments than whites," HUD said.

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CoreLogic: 850K Borrowers Rise Out of Negative Equity in Q1
Wed, 12 Jun 2013 10:09:00 -0500
Significant improvements in home values helped lift 850,000 borrowers out of negative equity in the first quarter, CoreLogic reported. Overall, 9.7 million borrowers, or 19.8 percent of all residential mortgages, were underwater in the first quarter of 2013, down from 10.5 million, or 21.7 percent of all mortgages, in the previous quarter, according to the data provider's estimate. The state with the highest share of upside down borrowers was Nevada, where 45.4 percent of residential mortgages are underwater.

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Fitch Doles Out Upgrades But Insists RMBS Still Vulnerable
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:45:00 -0500
While perhaps not completely out of the woods yet, residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) are on the mend with some improved performance of late, according to Fitch Ratings. An "improving U.S. housing market and stable macro environment" are boosting performance, leading Fitch to upgrade about 480 RMBS bonds so far this year and harbor a "Positive Outlook" on about 800 RMBS bonds. Looking ahead, the agency does not anticipate widespread upgrades in the year to come.

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IndiSoft's Data Destruction App Certified by Defense Department
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:26:00 -0500
The U.S. Department of Defense certified IndiSoft's secure data destruction application known as WipeOut.

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Real Property Management Doubles in Size Over Two Years
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:52:00 -0500
The property management industry is poised for growth thanks to the booming rental sector, according to Utah-based Real Property Management. In fact, Real Property Management says it has doubled in size over the past two years. Currently, the company has 230 offices across 47 states and opens an average of eight new franchises per month.

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Financial Problems Drop Sharply for Households
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:05:00 -0500
Americans are experiencing significantly fewer financial troubles than they were a month ago, according to the latest index from Consumer Reports. The Consumer Reports Trouble Tracker Index, which measures the proportion of consumers that have faced financial difficulties and the number of events they've encountered, fell sharply from 41.7 in the last report to 34.0--the lowest level since the measure was created.

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DataQuick Announces SVP Promotion
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:33:00 -0500
DataQuick, a real estate solutions provider, announced the promotion of Rich Kuegler to SVP of branch production for DataQuick Title (formerly Rels Title).

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Volusia County, CSC Partner to Offer Electronic Document Recording
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 12:12:00 -0500
Volusia County in Florida partnered with Corporation Service Company (CSC) to offer the use of electronic document recording for real estate and land record processing.

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Churchill Mortgage Approved for First-Time Homebuyer Program
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 11:24:00 -0500
Churchill Mortgage received approval to take part in a program that offers assistance to first-time homebuyers in Texas.

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Fed Report Proposes Use of Eminent Domain for Underwater Mortgages
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:50:00 -0500
There's a mortgage debt "overhang" that threatens the health of the national economy, and one possible solution to the problem comes in the form of eminent domain, according to a new report authored by Robert Hockett. Of the roughly 11 million underwater mortgages, about 3 or 4 million are in default, foreclosure, or foreclosed and awaiting liquidation, the report, Paying Paul and Robbing No One: An Eminent Domain Solution for Underwater Mortgage Debt, found.

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Job Openings Dip in April; Hiring in Fastest Pace Since 2008
Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:35:00 -0500
The number of job openings fell in April for the fourth time in the last five months as the number of people leaving their jobs jumped to the highest level since August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday. The number of persons unemployed for each job opening rose to 3.10, the first increase in that measure since February. At the same time, the JOLTS data showed hiring in the first four months of the year was up--albeit just 0.2 percent--from the same period in 2012.

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