Magazine

Florida's housing market showed signs of improvement in the first quarter of 2014, notching gains in median prices, new listings, and inventory while homes spent fewer days on the market. According to the latest data released by Florida Realtors, completed sales of single-family homes totaled roughly 50,000 for the quarter, up 2.3 percent over the previous year's quarter.

A booming tech sector and overall job and income growth have helped fuel a real estate boom in San Francisco, according to a recent special commentary from the Wells Fargo Economics Group. The group found that the city's perennially tight housing market has gotten even tighter, pushing rents and home prices up.

The number of foreclosure deeds in New Hampshire fell in March, suggesting that New Hampshire's long term foreclosure outlook will continue to improve, according to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority (NHHFA). The foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2014 was below that of every year since 2007, and is 21 percent below last year's first quarter.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it has reached an agreement with the owners/managers of a Denver-area apartment complex, resolving complaints of discrimination. The apartment complex, The Orchards at Cherry Creek Apartments in Centennial, was charged with discrimination after refusing to allow children to play outside.

The Wells Fargo Economics Group released a recent report outlining consumer confidence in the Sunshine State. The data from April suggests consumer sentiment slipped in Florida one point to 79 for the month, largely due to increased concerns about current economic conditions.

Freddie Mac announced it has opened up its "full menu" of relief policies for homeowners whose homes were damaged or destroyed by late April storms. Freddie Mac’s disaster relief policies extend to jurisdictions declared by President Obama to be Major Disaster Areas and where Individual Assistance Programs are being made available, which as of May 1 included parts of Arkansas and Mississippi.

As a part of ongoing legal proceedings, the office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) announced that Brian Kelly was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for his participation in a $4 million nationwide home loan modification scheme.

Mortgage Contracting Services' (MCS) CEO Caroline Reaves and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced Tuesday the company will create 90 new jobs in Ruston, Louisiana while doubling the size of its business process outsourcing center to more than 20,000 feet.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) announced during its 16th annual Building Michigan Communities Conference that it projects increases in new housing starts, rising home price, and a decline in foreclosures. "The economic and housing outlook in Michigan for 2014 is decidedly brighter than what we've seen at any time over the previous five years," said MSHDA Executive Director Scott Woosley.

MountainView Capital Group, a residential whole loan transaction advisor in Denver, Colorado, announced the closing of a deal involving a portfolio of residential mortgage loans with a total unpaid principal balance of approximately $60 million. The seller was listes as ResCap Liquidating Trust, and Mountainview served as ResCap’s loan sale advisor.