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Agents Suggest Banks May Be Holding onto REOs

A sharp drop in distressed sales is one of the main drivers behind the steady rise in home prices seen in certain areas throughout the country, according to the monthly Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse survey. In September, the HousingPulse Distressed Property Index (DPI) hit a record low of 38.6 percent based on a three-month moving average. HousingPulse respondents reported major banks seem to be keeping many REO properties off the market this year, but suggested banks may look to release ""significant amounts"" of bank-owned properties next year, which could lead to lower home prices. When real estate agents were asked about the impact of the upcoming national elections, responses were mixed.

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September Spending Outpaces Income

Consumer spending rose $87.9 billion, 0.8 percent, in September, twice the 0.4 percent growth in personal income, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Monday. While the increase in income matched economist expectations, the increase in spending was higher than the forecast. It was the third straight month spending grew faster than income.

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Ally Looks to Shift Further Away from Mortgage Business

Ally Bank announced it has launched a ""process to explore strategic alternatives for its agency mortgage servicing rights (MSR) portfolio and its business lending operations."" The announcement signals another step in Ally's shift away from the housing market.

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Industry Expresses Support for E-Signatures on Form 4506-T

Starting January 2013, the IRS will accept electronic signatures on Form 4506-T, which will make the process for requesting tax return transcripts easier. National Credit-reporting System, Inc. (NCS) announced the news in a release after receiving communication from the IRS as a participant in its income verification express service (IVES).

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Can the Fed’s QE3 Policy Save the Economy?

As the Federal Reserve launches its QE3 monetary policy, some interpret the plan as a sign Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has ""gone 'all in' on the U.S. housing market"" and is clinging to hope the housing market can not only recover itself, but also restore the entire U.S. economy. This, at least, is the outlook of Global Markets Intelligence (GMI) Research. The research firm suggests the Fed is turning to the housing market ""as the last, best hope"" for strengthening the overall economy and restoring ""healthy self-sustained economic growth.""

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FHFA Expects Taxpayer Cost for GSEs to Decrease

The projected taxpayer cost to preserve the profitability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is lower now that the GSEs are not expected to draw from Treasury to pay dividends and home prices are increasing, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. So far, the GSEs have drawn $187.5 billion from Treasury. When assessing potential Treasury draws under three different scenarios, FHFA projects Treasury draws will range from $191 billion to $209 billion at the end of 2015, or an additional $3 to $22 billion in support.

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GDP Up 2% in Q3, Beating Forecasts

Led by increases in personal consumption, government spending and residential investment, the U.S. economy grew 2.0 percent in the third quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday, faster than economists expected and a strong rebound from the 1.3 percent growth rate in the second quarter. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected an increase of 1.9 percent.

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SIGTARP Advises Discontinued Use of LIBOR

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program is advising Treasury to discontinue use of the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) as a benchmark for interest rates on TARP programs. ""Continued use of LIBOR for TARP while it is broken, unreliable, and remains potentially subject to manipulation undermines public confidence in financial markets and TARP and could put taxpayers at risk,"" SIGTARP stated in its quarterly report.

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Fixed Rates Barely Budge

Mortgage rate movement this week was ""so slight it was almost nonexistent,"" according to data from Freddie Mac and Bankrate.com. Freddie Mac's survey showed a bit of movement in fixed rates, with the 30-year fixed averaging 3.41 percent (0.7 point), up from 3.37 percent in the previous survey. The 15-year fixed averaged 2.72 percent (0.6 point), up from 2.66 percent. Bankrate's weekly survey revealed even smaller changes: The 30-year fixed dropped to 3.61 percent from 3.62 percent last week, while the 15-year fixed slid to 2.90 percent from 2.91 percent before.

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