REO

RealtyTrac has released its 2010 foreclosure tallies for the nation's largest metropolitan areas. The tracking firm found that foreclosure activity increased from 2009 in 149 of the 206 metros with a population of 200,000 or more. Interestingly enough, the metro areas with the 10 highest foreclosure rates all posted decreasing activity from 2009, but RealtyTrac says foreclosures became more widespread last year as high unemployment drove activity up in parts of the country that had been relatively insulated from the initial foreclosure tsunami.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its market outlook to the media on Wednesday. The trade group's economists are expecting mortgage lending to shrink by 36 percent this year. They project originations -- including loans for home purchases and refinancing -- to total $966 billion in 2011, compared to $1.5 trillion in 2010. If MBA's forecast holds true, it will be the mortgage industry's poorest showing since 1997.

Sales of distressed properties surged in December as many banks resumed foreclosures following the suspensions prompted by robo-signing issues last fall, according to an industry study conducted by Campbell Surveys. The company's distressed property index jumped to 47.2 percent last month, reflecting the distressed share of home sales transactions. December's level was up from 44.5 percent in November and nearly matched the index's peak recorded in September, before the robo-signing controversy came to light.

Dallas-based 3Point Lender Services, a national property preservation, inspection, and repair and rehab company, has relocated its national headquarters to a larger facility in Addison, a Dallas suburb. The company says rapid growth and continued proximity to key clients was the driving force behind the move.

The volume of distressed residential properties in the United States is the primary factor hindering a full recovery in the country's housing market, according to Standard & Poor's (S&P). Based on data through the end of the third quarter of 2010, S&P puts the principal balance of the nation's shadow inventory of distressed homes at more than $450 billion - a log jam that will take more than three and a half years to clear from the market, and that doesn't include GSE mortgages.

Safeguard Properties recently teamed with default servicing veteran Brandon Kirkham to launch Texas-based Compliance Connections. The newly formed company provides technology-assisted solutions and fulfillment services in the areas of code violation and compliance. Kirkham will serve as president of the new company.

REO Maestro has changed its corporate brand to Realis Real Estate Software. REO Maestro will remain the product name of the company's flagship workflow management tool, which has been utilized by agents and brokers specializing in REO properties for the last decade. With rising demand from its customers, Realis is also expanding its product portfolio with the release of Prelude, a tool tailored specifically for short sales and scheduled for release in spring 2011.

According to the Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data, the number of completed foreclosures in Massachusetts jumped almost 32 percent in 2010 to 12,233, up from 9,269 in 2009. However, it did not surpass the record 12,430 foreclosures in 2008. The company says the one bright spot in the state's annual data is that fewer people entered the foreclosure process compared to a year earlier, despite a slumping economy and high unemployment.

Sales of previously owned homes surged 12.3 percent in December, according to the National Association of Realtors. Existing-home sales have increased five of the last six months and have now hit a seven-month high, at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.28 million units. That's up from a rate of 4.70 million in November, but remains 2.9 percent below the 5.44 million pace in December 2009. Distressed homes accounted for 36 percent of December's sales.

According to RealtyStore, a provider of local foreclosure listings, the median price of bank foreclosures in Miami-Dade County, Florida, are nearly half that of the current market rate. The firm's analysis showed 64 percent of all foreclosures for sale in the county are marketed by banks. The other foreclosures are listed for sale by government entities, including HUD and the GSEs. Bank-owned foreclosures are priced 47 percent less than the median market price. When it comes to government foreclosure pricing, the discounts are even deeper.