RES.NET recently launched a customer loyalty program for real estate agents.
RES Rewards, the programâs name, is free and allows members to collect points by completing tasks throughout the system such as using the connect tool, referring a friend, and renewing a membership.
In response to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) on Wednesday, experts overall agree market is heading towards recovery but advise certain factors need to be taken into consideration when analyzing the data. In response to the 4.3 percent month-over-month increase in January for existing-home sales, Capital Economics stated that it is not quite as encouraging as it first appears given that it comes at the expense of a 5 percent downward revision to the previous month's figures.
Existing-home sales rose in January for the third time in the last four months, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
January sales completed transactions were up 4.3 percent from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million.
January sales â completed transactions â were up 4.3 percent from December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million. December's total was revised downward to 4.38 million from 4.61 million. The January 2012 sales pace was up 0.7 percent from January 2011.
New data from Lender Processing Services (LPS) shows that as of the end of January, there were 6,082,000 mortgages in the U.S. going unpaid. That tally includes loans that are 30 or more days delinquent and loans in foreclosure. The national delinquency rate as of January month-end was 7.97 percent. Delinquencies registered a decline, both for the month and the year. The industry's foreclosure inventory, however, rose to 4.15 percent, as newly initiated foreclosures spiked.
Moderate Growth Projected for the Year
Overall, growth is expected to continue for the year, but at a modest rate, according to the Fannie Mae February 2012 Economic Outlook report.
Economic growth is projected to be at 2.3 percent for 2012, an increase compared to 1.6 percent last year, according to the report. For the first time in seven years, the housing market is projected to contribute to gross domestic product (GDP, but by a very modest amount.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a three-part goal Tuesday to phase out the dominant role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and allow for more private investors into the mortgage industry. The first part of the goal involves building a new infrastructure to enable the private sector to participate in the secondary market. The second goal would be to contract the GSEs' operations to the private sector, gradually moving mortgage credit risk from the GSEs to private investors, according to the letter.The last goal is to continue with initiatives to prevent foreclosures and ensure mortgage credit is available.
With more than 100,000 vacant properties in the state, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine designated part of Ohioâs $335 million from the national settlement with the nationâs largest servicers for property demolition. However, not everyone agrees with the decision. "We would have much rather spent that money helping families and creating homes rather than knocking houses down that we believe are owned by some very well-resourced banks," said Chris Warren, Cleveland's chief of regional development, according to the Huffington Post.
Operation Homefront, a non-profit which assists military members, partnered with Chase to place at least 100 Wounded Warriors, military, and veteran families into permanent residences this year through the Homes on the Homefront program.
Chase is providing the homes, and Operation Homefront will provide ongoing transitional services to the families until properties are deeded to the recipients.
a la mode announced February 16 that its DataCourier service reached a milestone of one million appraisal reports delivered since September 1, 2011, the time new Uniform Appraisal Dataset (UAD) requirements went into effect. DataCourier is a free electronic packaging and delivery service that bundles files and checks for compliance errors.
Treasury is heading to the coastal cities of Miami and Tampa, Florida, this week in order to offer assistance to homeowners struggling with their mortgage payments. Treasury will host a "Help for Homeowners" outreach event in each of the hard-hit Florida cities where homeowners can meet one-on-one with their servicers. Before the homeowners arrive, though, Treasury has blocked off time for real estate professionals to meet with the servicers on behalf of their clients and to participate in short sale workshops led by the servicers themselves.
A recently released Supplemental Directive from Treasury increases incentives for second lien investors when loans receive principal reductions. The increased incentives apply to permanent HAMP modifications with principal reductions through the government's Principal Reduction Alternative (PRA) that have trial period plans starting March 1 or later. Increased incentives are also available when second liens are completely or partially eliminated through the Second Lien Modification Program (2MP) on loans modified starting June 1.
A former bank president and real estate developer were charged in a one count bill of information for conspiracy to commit mortgage bank fraud. The case, which is being investigated by agents from the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and the FBI, involves Reginald Harper, 58, former president and CEO of First Community Bank in Hammond, Louisiana, and Troy A. Fouquet, 43, a developer based in Covington, Louisiana. Both men were charged for their roles in a scheme involving the cover up of delinquent loans for "sham" loans.
Loan Resolution Corporation Acquires KeyLink Asset Management LRC Asset Management, a majority-owned company of Loan Resolution Corporation (LRC), announced the acquisition of KeyLink Asset Management. As of March 1, 2012, KeyLink will be known as LRC Asset Management.
Keystone Asset Management announced the promotion of one of its employees to VP of marketing and business development. Ryan Hennessy, who joined Keystone in 2009, received the new title. In his role as VP, Hennessy develops new businesses and works closely with operations, sales, IT, and accounting teams to implement procedures in the ongoing development of existing client portfolios.
To avoid losing homes to foreclosure due to long response times for short sale transactions, three senators introduced legislation to speed up the short sale process. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) proposed the bill addressing the issue of short sales time lines on February 17. The legislation, also known as the Prompt Notification of Short Sales Act, will require a written response from a bank no later than 75 days after receipt of the written request from the buyer.
Connecticut is set to receive more than $190 million from the multi-state settlement with the nationâs largest mortgage servicers. "There are many reasons why I believe this settlement is good for Connecticut, but the most important reason is this: it provides immediate help to thousands of Connecticut homeowners at a time when they can still use that help to save their homes," said Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen, who served on the negotiating committee that established the settlement with the banks.
Realtor.com released its list of the top ten turnaround towns for the 2011 fourth quarter. While the ten towns listed - eight of which are in Florida - suffered from high foreclosure rates, they are now rebounding. Miami, Florida, at number one, had sales of existing single-family homes shoot up 51 percent in the third quarter compared to a year ago, according to the Miami Association of Realtors. The turnaround list was developed based on year-over-year price appreciation, reductions in year-over-year median age of inventory, and declines in inventory levels.
An audit of San Francisco foreclosures conducted by county officials revealed documentation errors were evident in nearly all of the cases examined. Auditors reviewed 382 case files that resulted in a foreclosure sale between January 2009 and October 2011. They identified one or more irregularities in 99 percent of the loans and one or more violations of state law in 84 percent. San Francisco's Office of the AssessorâRecorder says it hopes to open a dialogue on the importance of compliance with state laws so that corrective action can be taken.
The Economic Report of the President was released by the White House Friday, and included a summary on how the administration has and will attempt to move the housing market forward towards stability. The theme for report was To Recover, Rebalance, and Rebuild, and when addressing the housing market, the report stated that while housing markets are stabilizing in many regions, the healing process will take time. In order to restore the housing market back to health, the report spoke of initiatives from the Obama administration including the reduction of inventory for foreclosed homes by converting them to rental units.
Zillow, Inc. announced the hiring of a new VP of partner relations. Robert D. Bemis was appointed for the position and has 25 years of experience in the real estate industry. Bemis will be responsible for creating new partner relationships with real estate brokers, agents and multiple listings services(MLSs). In 2011, Bemis was named one of the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders by Inman News.
Reluctant attorneys general for New York and Delaware both signed on to the multi-state $25 billion settlement last week with the nation's largest servicers, securing $740 million and $45 million for their states, respectively. The two attorneys general were lured back to the settlement in its final days when they were assured the settlement would not impede further investigation into additional civil and criminal claims at the five mortgage servicers â Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and GMAC.
American Home Mortgage Servicing(AHMSI) announced that the company will change its name to Homeward Residential, and is expecting this conversion to take place after the second quarter. The name change is a move to reflect the company's expansion into residential lending and other real estate finance related businesses.
To help companies stay in compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), eMason introduced a software application to alert mortgage services of borrowers who are on active duty.
CLARIFIRE automatically requests and stores DOD certificates and alerts users of active duty status through a dashboard view of these loans.
ISGN Corporation now includes an IT group among the list of services it provides to the mortgage industry. The IT services group assists companies with building an IT strategy to meet business needs. ISGN offers a variety of IT solutions including project consultation, infrastructure management, and application development and maintenance.
The risk for property valuation fraud rose nearly 8 percent for this fourth quarter, according to the Mortgage Fraud Risk Report released by Interthinkx. This rise caused certain regions of the New York Tri-State region to move into the high risk category. The national mortgage fraud risk index also increased by 1.4 percent compared to the last quarter and 3.6 percent since a year ago. With an index value of 247, Arizona overtook Nevada as the riskiest state. Nevada, now at number two, ranked first in this category since the first quarter of 2010.
President Obama's budget proposal continues to receive a barrage of criticism, especially from Republican lawmakers. Obama specifically targets the nation's largest banks with a Financial Crisis Responsibility Fee, through which he intends to raise $61 billion. The money is intended to "compensate the American people for the extraordinary assistance they provided to Wall Street" and discourage excessive risk-taking, Obama says. Part of the money would be used to fund the mass refinance program outlined in his State of the Union address.
The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is still at an all-time low of 3.87 percent and it's been there since the first week of February, according to the weekly market survey published by Freddie Mac. The 30-year average has managed to remain below 4 percent for the past 11 weeks, and below 5 percent for the past 52 weeks, dating back to February 17, 2011. The 15-year rate was also unchanged in the GSE's study, while the 5-year adjustable rate posted a slight decline and the 1-year adjustable rate increased.
CitiMortgage, a subsidiary of CitiBank, agreed to pay $158.3 million due to claims that the bank failed to comply with HUD and FHA requirements in underwriting loans for federal insurance, and for stating certain loans were eligible for FHA's mortgage insurance program when they were not.
As a result of these actions, HUD incurred losses from defaulted loans that should not have been approved. CitiMortgage accepted responsibility for specific actions including failing to conduct a full review of certain loans it endorsed.
StreetLinks Lender Solutions has expanded its executive sales staff to accommodate the company's growing nationwide base of lender and appraiser partners. Shane Martin joins as VP of national sales, Tony Gioia assumes the role of VP of national external sales, Mark Tague has been tapped as assistant VP of national sales for LenderX, Joel Munn also steps into the role of assistant VP of national sales, and Geoffrey Helmen is StreetLinks' newest national account manager.
A recent Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) report revealed that overall, delinquencies and foreclosures are on a decline, and when gauging where the U.S. housing market stands in terms of recovery, Jay Brinkmann, MBA's chief economist, says we are about halfway to the pre-recession days. Overall, the delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four unit residential properties decreased to 7.58 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 7.99 percent in the third.
First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 13,000 for the week ended February 11 to 348,000, hitting their lowest level since March 2008, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. Continuing claims, reported on a one-week lag, fell as well, dropping 100,000 to 3,426,000. That's the lowest reading for continuing claims since August 2008. While the absolute numbers themselves are encouraging, the trend in the filings is more significant.
Foreclosure activity increased 3 percent in January, but is still down 10 percent compared to a year earlier, according to data released by RealtyTrac Thursday. Foreclosure activity includes default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions. Nationwide, one in every 624 housing units had a foreclosure filing last month. The number of properties taken back as REO in January totaled 66,542, with the biggest year-over-year increases in repossessions recorded in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Indiana.
IMARC, which specializes in fraud audits for individual loans and portfolios, hired a new senior director of product design and business development. Lisa R. Binkley has been in the mortgage industry for 25 years, and her main responsibilities with IMARC will include product development and marketing associated with quality control, due diligence, and data verification.
Obama's FY2013 budget proposal includes an extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. The Act ensures that homeowners who received principal reductions or other forms of debt forgiveness on their primary residences do not have to pay taxes on the amount forgiven. The administration is proposing an extension that would apply to any amounts forgiven before January 1, 2015. Otherwise, short sales and even modifications that reduce the debt qualify as income to the borrower.
Consumers who want their foreclosure cases checked by a third party as part of federal regulators' independent foreclosure review directive now have until July 31, 2012, to submit their requests. The Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced Wednesday that the deadline has been pushed out by three months to give consumers more time to file for a case assessment if they believe they suffered financial injury as a result of errors in foreclosure actions in 2009 or 2010.
Overall, the addition of 683,000 new jobs and the best credit picture in more than 15 years helped improve the financial health for the average U.S. household, but these gains were offset somewhat by a decline in net worth and tight household budgets, according to the Q4 2011 report from CredAbility. A score below 70 indicates financial distress, with U.S. households scoring 67.6 on the 100-point scale for this quarter, a smidge higher than the previous quarter, which was at 66.7.
Of the myriad of public reports about the mortgage industry, the quarterly statistics from Freddie Mac on refinance activity offer unique insights not only into the level of refinance lending but what that activity tells us about the housing sector. If you know how to read them, the reports can offer strategic clues for the savvy lender. Loans refinanced into larger loans, for example, speak to a need to supplement lagging incomes, while refinancing into smaller loans allows homeowners to free up cash for consumption.
For those juggling a list of REO properties that must be managed and maintained, Mobile Business Concepts created an app and software to make the process smoother and more efficient. REO Photo, the app's name, will help contractors get organized through features such as the ability to assign jobs, track progress, and document work with photos.
Rogers Townsend & Thomas PC recently announced the addition of David W. Neill to the firm's Charlotte, North Carolina office. Neill brings 14 years of default services experience to the firm and has handled all aspects of the foreclosure process, from initiation to completion. His work has included resolving complex title issues, addressing problems inherent with REO properties, interacting with title companies, and conducting real estate closings.
Integra Group Real Estate introduced a short sale department to its services to address the high foreclosure rates in Arizona. The housing market crash caused more than half of Arizona homeowners to have negative equity, and Pima County has an 11.9 percent vacancy rate compared to the normal 1 and 2 percent rate, according to a release from Integra. Through bilingual support, Integra also services Hispanic homeowners who were impacted 2.3 times more by subprime loans than non-Hispanics.
Residential Credit Solutions, Inc. (RCS) has just received approval from the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) to be an issuer and servicer for the Ginnie Mae I and II single-family mortgage-backed securities programs. Dennis Stowe, president and CEO of RCS, says the nod from Ginnie Mae will allow the company to provide assistance to a broader constituency of homeowners by expanding its servicing and sub-servicing offerings to both investors and issuers of federally insured and guaranteed loans.
The $25 billion, 49-state settlement awarded Ohio with $335 million to be used for recovery and prevention efforts. Through the creation of a grant program, the AG's office will set aside $75 million to fund the removal of vacant and abandoned properties, which decrease the value of surrounding homes. While the exact number in Ohio is unknown, the estimate is 100,000 properties.
Liberty Title and Escrow Company announced last week that Beth Avedis has joined its ranks as VP of sales throughout the state of Colorado. Avedis was previously with Fidelity National Title Company's direct Colorado operation, Heritage Title Company, where she served as VP of sales and marketing. During her 17-year career there, Avedis was awarded the prestigious Platinum Award for sales accomplishments for several consecutive years.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is looking to propose a rule to standardize monthly mortgage statements to make them easier for customers to understand. The CFPB recently released an early draft of a statement and is seeking feedback. Once a refined prototype is available, the CFPB said it will propose a rule to specify what needs to be on statements, but creditors, assignees, and servicers will have some flexibility to tweak the form after final publication of the rule.
The settlement reached last week between federal and state officials and the nation's five largest servicers includes specific provisions for U.S. military members wrongfully harmed by their mortgage servicer. Four of the five banks participating in the settlement - JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally - will review foreclosures of military members since January 2006, identifying instances of violation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, according to the Department of Justice.
The national mortgage delinquency rate rose during the fourth quarter of 2011, TransUnion reported Tuesday, marking only the second time since the end of 2009 the credit bureau has recorded an increase in past due mortgage payments. The first was during the third quarter of 2011, with the succession signaling what could be a troubling trend in the making. TransUnion calculates delinquencies as borrowers 60 or more days behind on payments but not in foreclosure. The rate increased from 5.88 percent in the third quarter to 6.01 percent in the fourth.
Foreclosure sales on the West Coast started strong for the year 2012, with Washington as the exception, according to ForeclosureRadar. Arizona, California, Nevada, and Oregon are the other states included in the report - all of which saw increases in foreclosure sales to investors. Nevada experienced the largest month-over-month increase in foreclosure sales, up nearly 60 percent. California also saw a substantial increase at nearly 15 percent and underwent the most activity, with investors purchasing 3,964 properties for $766.2 million, according to ForeclosureRadar.
Avenue 365 Lender Services announced a new VP of business development for its growing default services division. Shegun Onakomaiya was named for the role and his duties will include expanding the client base and finding additional ways to service clients. Onakomaiya worked at Citigroup for 8 years, most recently as a transaction manager in the acquisition and securitization desk.
With all the buzz after the multistate settlement regarding potential relief to homeowners, the Texas Foreclosure Prevention Task Force reminded consumers to be cautious of potential scams. It's getting harder to identify the good guys from the bad guys, said David Long, co-chair of the TFPTF. Borrowers will not know immediately if they are eligible for relief, and there is no cost to participate in the initiatives from the settlement.
Baron and Budd attorneys filed a lawsuit on February 10, alleging that Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase charged excessive default service fees. According to the suit, while federal law allows mortgage servicers to charge borrowers BPO fees, Wells Fargo and Chase marked up the charges or performed unnecessary services to make a profit, which is not permissible. The suit also claims that the fees are disguised on statements as other charges, miscellaneous fees, or corporate advances.
President Barack Obama's FY2013 budget proposal has instigated a whirlwind of bipartisan debate as Republicans launch accusations that the president's proposal is no more than a piece of campaign material that will harm more than help the nation's economy. The president has allocated $350 billion for short-term measures for job growth, increased funding for HUD by 3.2 percent, and set aside $141 million in additional support for housing counseling.
As many as 10 million homeowners are at risk of default, according to Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In an op-ed piece, Cordray recounts the type of behavior and practices that put so many Americans in danger of losing their homes - it's what he describes as "the wild West of lending." Enter the CFPB. While the agency is charged with overseeing all consumer-facing financial products and services, Cordray says its greatest focus is on the mortgage market, and servicing in particular.
In addition to the $25 billion settlement between the five largest servicers and 49 states, Nevada's Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto reaped more for Nevada homeowners through an additional settlement with Bank of America. Masto won Nevada $750 million in relief for lien principal payments and short sales from BofA and $30 million for consumer protection efforts. That's on top of the $1.5 billion that will go to the state from the nationwide settlement reached with all five servicers.
Stewart Lender Services (SLS) added Rental Management Solutions to its list of services to assist those in the mortgage industry with managing rental properties. "It addresses pending government programs, offers a compliant rental solution to expediently place qualified renters into vacant homes, helps to alleviate the overhead of managing vacant REO properties, and aids in restoring communities heavily hit by the mortgage crisis," said Ken Blevins, CEO of PMH Financial, a Stewart company.
CoreLogic appointed Kevin Wall as SVP for its default services business, which helps companies manage its default portfolio by providing services such as data and analytics. Wall, who joined CoreLogic in August 2009, will direct operations, product development, and services for the default services business.
A bank in Indiana and another in Illinois closed Friday, February 10, increasing the tally for FDIC-insured banks closed this year to nine. Shelby County Bank (SCB) of Shelbyville, Indiana shut its doors and was acquired by First Merchants Bank. Barrington Bank & Trust Company took over Charter National and reopened over the weekend as a branch of Barrington Bank.
Sen. Robert Menendez says the $25 billion settlement struck between federal and state officials and the nation's five largest mortgage servicers helps homeowners but is a long way from healing the grievous wounds left by the crisis. He has introduced a bill that would encourage lenders to reduce principal for underwater borrowers with a shared-appreciation modification.
Amidst the housing crises came new challenges for more than just politicians, homeowners and those in the industry, but also for people with a penchant for art and design. Foreclosed: Rehousing the America Dream, is an exhibition that will be showcased at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. The exhibit will explore architectural possibilities against the backdrop of the depressed housing market.
To alleviate issues of foreclosure in one of the hardest hit areas, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn launched two initiatives. One effort will connect homeowners to resources to keep them in their homes, and another will help revitalize areas affected by foreclosed and vacant properties. Illinois is consistently ranked among the top 10 states with the highest number of foreclosures.
While the $25 billion settlement between five of the nation's largest servicers and 49 of the state attorneys general awaits approval from a judge, there is some relief in the industry that the 16 months of investigation and negotiation has come to a close. Mike Heid, president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, says the agreement represents "a very important step toward restoring confidence in mortgage servicing and stability in the housing market."
Holliday Fenoglio Fowler (HFF), a commercial real estate and capital markets services provider, hired two new managing directors: one for its Pittsburgh office and one for its Orange county location.
Nicholas Matt rejoined the firm in Pittsburgh, and James Fowler was selected for Orange county office.
Zillow forecasts home values will be on the decline through December 2012, but the decrease will be smaller than in 2011. Home values in the U.S. fell in the fourth quarter, with the Zillow Home Value Index sinking 1.1 percent after a less significant decline for the two previous quarters. Zillow's report also shows that the rate of homes foreclosed on increased slightly to 8.2 out of every 10,000 in December, compared to 8 out of every 10,000 homes in November.
Bank of America will pay $1 billion to the U.S. to settle on the largest False Claims Act relating to mortgage fraud. Since 2009, the U.S. attorney's office has been investigating lending practices from Countrywide, which BofA acquired in 2008. The results of the investigation led to allegations that the bank created loans insured by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) to unqualified home buyers. BofA was also accused of originating loans based on inflated appraisals and failing to identify homeowners who could participate in the government's Home Affordable Modification Program.
Bank of America is experiencing a deluge of phone calls from homeowners wanting to refinance. Consumer demand is so high, in fact, that without some internal adjustment, it threatens to compromise the level of customer service delivered by the bank's fulfillment personnel and interfere with closing timelines. The company says it's not willing to sacrifice long-term customer satisfaction for short-term volume, and it has instituted a temporary stopgap measure that alerts customers when it is experiencing processing delays due to high volume.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve issued statements Thursday detailing monetary penalties they have levied against the nation's largest servicers for "unsafe and unsound mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices." The OCC is assessing a total of $394 million in penalties against Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. The Federal Reserve's monetary sanctions total $766.5 million and target the same four institutions as well as Ally Financial.
LenderLive Network, a domestic-based, end-to-end mortgage services provider, appointed Patrice Power as SVP of marketing. With 30 years of brand marketing and management skills, Power has created strategic marketing plans and public and media relations and advertising campaigns for Fortune 1000 and Fortune 500 companies.
Property code violations come in all shapes and prices, but Field Asset Services (FAS) narrowed the list down to the top 10. The list is based on FAS's 30 mortgage and asset management clients; the company services more than 130,000 active properties on an ongoing basis. "Cities and local municipalities across the nation are becoming more vigilant towards issuing code violations to reduce blight and improve neighborhood conditions," said Dale McPherson, CFO of Field Asset Services.
Thursday's unprecedented $25 billion settlement between federal and state officials and the nation's top mortgage servicers was especially favorable to California. After leaving settlement negotiations in September, claiming the proposal at the time was inadequate for California homeowners, Attorney General Kamala Harris opted to sign on to the final settlement, which was revised to secure $18 billion for the state of California. At the time Harris left the settlement, California was expected to receive about $4 billion from the banks.
While the $25 billion robo-signing settlement concludes 16 months of intense negotiations, questions still remain on how this will impact borrowers and the larger economy. Capital Economics stated that while it is good that the settlement has been finalized and will offer principal reductions and refinancing schemes to borrowers, the bigger picture is that the settlement is not large enough to dramatically alter the outlook for the housing market or the wider economy.
First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell by 15,000 for the week ended February 4 to 358,000, remaining below 400,000 for the fourth straight week. The prior week's claims data were revised upward by 6,000, making this week's drop steeper than expected. Continuing claims for unemployment insurance increased 64,000 to 3,515,000 for the week ended January 28, giving back most of the previous week's decline. This week's report continues the generally declining trend in claims filings since last September and indicates the pace of layoffs has slowed.
While the 30-year fixed rate mortgage remained at a record low, data released Thursday by Freddie Mac reported other rates are steadily moving upward.
A strong January employment report added upward pressure to most mortgage rates this week, Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac, said.
Federal and state officials announced Thursday morning that the federal government and 49 state attorneys general - with Oklahoma as the lone exception - have reached a $25 billion agreement with the nation's five largest mortgage servicers to address what authorities describe as "loan servicing and foreclosure abuses." The settlement with the nation's top five servicers â Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial (formerly GMAC) - provides financial relief to homeowners and establishes new homeowner protections.
Respondents from a Fannie Mae National Housing Survey for January 2012 expressed expectations for home prices to increase by 1 percent over the next 12 months, and most Americans continue to expect no change in mortgage rates. This marks the fourth month in a row consumer expectation was positive. The Fannie Mae survey polled 1,000 Americans through a telephone interview to assess attitudes towards different areas of the mortgage industry, including owning and renting, rates, homeownership distress, and the economy.
Analysts at Fitch Ratings expect to see a sharp rise in the cost to service mortgage loans. They describe the housing recovery in the U.S. as "unhurried" and as a result, they say lenders have been forced to shoulder higher foreclosure expenses. Fitch says increased foreclosure costs compounded by credit, compliance, regulatory, and other real-estate owned expenses are beginning to have a profound effect on the industry. The agency estimates the cost of servicing nonperforming loans is likely to double from pre-crisis levels.
HOPE NOW announced plans to reach out to military homeowners facing foreclosure.
Stakeholders representing the mortgage servicing industry, non-profit counselors, investors, regulators, and military members met in Washington, D.C. to strategize on ways to assist those in the military who are at risk of losing their home due to a permanent change in station and other issues.
Four federal regulatory agencies issued guidance for junior lien holders regarding loan loss allowances. Junior liens include second mortgages and home equity lines of credit. The Federal Reserve, FDIC, National Credit Union Administration, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued the guidance not to enact new rules, but rather "to reiterate policy and to remind regulated financial institutions to monitor all credit quality indicators relevant to credit portfolios, including junior liens," according to a joint release from the agencies.
