A federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington ruled in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and other defendants, MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. announced.
Read More
As home values improve and servicers continue to ramp up efforts to reduce delinquent pipelines through short sales and loan modifications, the composition of RMBS loan pools outstanding should also improve, according to Moody's most recent ResiLandscape. According to analysts from Moody's, rising home prices motivate current borrowers to avoid default, and they increase the proportion of current loans with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios below 100, which are the loans that are the least likely to go incur losses.
Read More
Existing-home sales rose 0.6 percent in April to an annual sales rate of 4.97 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single-family home jumped $8,900 in the month to $192,800, the highest since August 2008. The inventory of homes for sale rose to 2.16 million--its highest level since last September. The supply of homes for sale rose to 5.2 months, the highest since October. Inventory has been a persistent concern to NAR, which says the low supply of homes for sale has reduced the number of transactions.
Read More
Month-end mortgage performance data in April continued to point to a recovery as delinquency and foreclosure rates posted record improvements, Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) reported Wednesday. In April, the delinquency rate sunk below 6.5 percent for the first time since July 2008, according to the data provider. At 6.21 percent, the delinquency rate recorded a month-over-month decrease of 5.81 percent and a year-over-year decline of 9.61 percent. The foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate, which stood at 3.17 percent in April, plunged 24.55 percent from a year ago.
Read More
Last year, some analysts were speculating the large supply of REOs and shadow inventory would keep the market depressed, but instead, the market is dealing with a lack of inventory available for sale, ProTeck Valuation Services noted in its May Home Value Forecast (HVF). "[I]n reality the shortage of housing inventory has led buyers to bid more competitively against one another leading to significant home price increases and tighter housing conditions," said Tom O'Grady, CEO of Pro Teck.
Read More
The majority of metros covered in Zillow's Real Estate Market Reports saw home values inch up from March to April, the company reported Tuesday. Zillow's Home Value Index increased 0.5 percent month-over-month and 5.2 percent year-over-year. April marked the sixth consecutive month in which home values appreciated more than 5 percent on a yearly basis. According to Zillow, the last time national home values were at this level was in June 2004.
Read More
The five banks that took part in the national mortgage settlement are getting close to completing their consumer relief obligations a year after the landmark deal was reached. So far, the five banks--Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial--have provided $50.63 billion in consumer relief to over 621,700 borrowers, according to an update from the settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr. The provided relief comes out to about $81,437 per borrower.
Read More
The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) expressed opposition toward bill H.R. 1077, known as the Consumer Mortgage Choice Act, which would exclude loan originator salaries, insurance and taxes held in escrow, and loan level pricing adjustments by government agencies or GSEs when computing points and fees. In a letter to Congress, CRL argues that H.R. 1077 "promotes steering borrowers into more expensive loans" and "creates new loopholes that would allow loans with higher costs and fees to improperly meet" QM standards.
Read More
In its most recent update on the status of foreclosure review checks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced more than 2.4 million checks valued at $2.2 billion have been cashed or deposited as of May 16. So far, Rust Consulting, the paying agent, has sent 3.9 million checks totaling $3.4 billion. About 4.2 million borrowers are eligible for relief as part of the foreclosure review settlement reached in January between federal regulators and 13 servicers.
Read More
While the worst of the foreclosure crisis appears to be over, foreclosures led to the loss of $192.6 billion in wealth for Americans in 2012, according a report from the Alliance for a Just Society, national coalition of eight state-based grassroots community organizations. On average, the estimated loss in wealth last year comes out to about $1,700 per household for 114.7 million households in the nation, according to the coalition. The report also suggested the crisis is not yet over.
Read More
Do you have a news tip, story idea, or suggestion for DSNews.com or DS News magazine?
Simply e-mail editor@dsnews.com.
Whether you choose to tell us a little about yourself or prefer anonymity, we appreciate your contribution!
