Foreclosure

The percentage of distressed properties in home purchase transactions climbed to its highest level in nearly a year last month, according to an industry report released Tuesday. The distressed property index tracked as part of the report indicates that the share of sales transactions involving distressed homes climbed to 49.6 percent in January. Comments from real estate agents collected as part of the survey confirms the growing share of distressed properties, particularly in hard-hit markets.

Dr. Christopher Herbert, research director at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University, has been named to the board of directors of the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF). Herbert spent the last two decades conducting research related to housing policy, housing markets, housing finance, and urban development. He also promotes and maintains homeownership for low-income and minority families.

A federal judge has dismissed two charges in a class action lawsuit brought against GMAC Mortgage on behalf of Maine homeowners filed after GMAC's concession that some foreclosure legal documents had been used without following proper procedures. District Judge D. Brock Hornby granted GMAC's motion to dismiss the homeowners' allegations of abuse of process and fraud. One count is still pending in the case, in which the plaintiffs are accusing GMAC of violating the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act, but an attorney for the homeowners said he expects that to be thrown out also.

Despite an increase in new and existing home sales, home prices in 2010 slumped to their lowest point in December, according to a recent report by mortgage technology company FNC. The FNC Residential Price Index (RPI) attributes the decline in part to increased sales of foreclosed properties, and higher distressed-property discounts. According to the index, home prices declined for the seventh straight month in December, ending the year with the biggest one-month drop of 2010.

After several months in which the nation's volume of non-current home loans declined, the contraction has come to an end. Lender Processing Services (LPS) says there were 6.92 million residential mortgages past due or in foreclosure as of the end of January. That's up from 6.87 million reported by the analytics firm for December. LPS provided the media with a sneak peek at its January month-end mortgage performance data, and the numbers show that both the delinquency rate and foreclosure inventory rate edged up last month.

Equator launched a new Web site Friday along with three new modules: Loan Segmentation, REO Segmentation, and Invoice Management. The company says these new modules will seamlessly interface with existing modules to offer an end-to-end default suite to assist servicers with upcoming inventories.

When evidence surfaced last fall of flawed foreclosure documentation and robo-signers within some of the nation's largest servicing shops, federal regulators launched an investigation into the foreclosure and servicing practices of 14 companies. Officials say they've uncovered ""critical deficiencies and shortcomings"" and will be enforcing sanctions and penalties against servicers and developing a set of national mortgage servicing standards for the industry.

The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on single-family residential properties dropped to 8.22 percent at the end of 2010, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. That's down about 10 percent from the rate reported by the trade group three months earlier and is its lowest mortgage delinquency reading since the fourth quarter of 2008. While all delinquency buckets posted declines in Q4, loans in foreclosure tied the all-time record high in MBA's survey as resolutions were delayed due to robo-signing issues and case reviews.

Last week a New York judge ruled that the relationship between Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) and its members is not one in which the company can act on behalf of the lenders in filing documents and proceeding with foreclosures. But judges that same week in Kansas and Massachusetts ruled the connection between the company and its members does allow for such actions. MERS issued a statement Wednesday saying it plans on making some changes so that members are not allowed to foreclose in MERS' name.

RealtyTrac has announced the hiring of Brian C. Walby as VP of sales and strategic alliances. In this role, Walby will focus on member subscription sales, advertising sales, lead generation programs, and product sales. Walby brings more than 15 years of sales experience to RealtyTrac. He has managed sales organizations in both the private and public sector, with sales revenue responsibilities in excess of $80 million.