Mortgage rates continued to slide downward for the week ending July 29, 2010, marking yet another round of record lows, Freddie Mac and Bankrate reported Thursday. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.54 percent this week, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4 percent. Bankrate said 30-year fixed-rate mortgages came in at 4.71 percent, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages inched down to 4.17 percent.

In the first half of 2010, Fannie Mae provided $5.9 billion in investments to the multifamily rental housing market, according to a semiannual report released Tuesday. The multifamily unit at Fannie Mae said it has bolstered mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issuance since focusing its efforts on securitization and broadening the investor base in 2009. Of the $5.9 billion invested in the first of this year, $5.5 billion was delivered through MBS execution.

U.S. Reps. John Lewis, David Scott, and Hank Johnson have joined forces with HUD, the U.S. Department of Treasury, the HOPE NOW Alliance, and NeighborWorks America for an upcoming event aimed at helping financially troubled homeowners in the Atlanta area. The event, dubbed the ""Help for Homeowners"" project, is scheduled for July 30 and July 31. Nearly 20 of the area's top lenders will be available at the event to meet one-on-one with area residents who are struggling to pay their mortgages. The event, dubbed the Help for Homeowners project, is scheduled for July 30 and July 31.

As part of an ongoing effort against scams that target financially distressed consumers, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has banned several marketers from selling mortgage modification or foreclosure relief services. According to the FTC, the marketers allegedly charged homeowners up-front fees and falsely claimed they could get their mortgage modified or prevent foreclosure on their homes. Settlements regarding these allegations have been met through three separate actions.

Despite a continued increase in purchase applications, mortgage loan application volume fell 4.4 percent for the week ending July 23, 2010, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. According to MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the purchase index inched up 2 percent from one week earlier. But this uptick wasn't enough to keep overall mortgage application volume on the rise. The week-to-week dip came as the refinance index tumbled 5.6 percent.

Freddie Mac recently named Deborah Jenkins as VP and national head of multifamily underwriting and credit. In her new role, Jenkins is responsible for managing the underwriting and credit approvals of all multifamily debt investment for Freddie Mac.

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB), a Washington, D.C.-based trade association composed of minority professionals in the real estate industry, has formed strategic partnerships with PartnerFirst, LLC, and Integrated Mortgage Solutions (IMS). NAREB teamed up with PartnerFirst to create a certified, nationwide, and multicultural short sale agent network that it says will help minority communities across America avoid foreclosure. And the association joined forces with IMS to engage minority business as subcontractors.

The Federal Housing Administration's Mortgagee Review Board (MRB) is ruling with an iron fist. So far this year, the MRB has taken action against almost 1,500 FHA-approved lenders who failed to meet its requirements, according to a notice published Monday in the Federal Register. Of the lenders facing penalties from the MRB, 905 have lost FHA approval for a period of one year. The federal agency reached a $700,000 settlement agreement with CitiMortgage over allegations that the lender failed to accurately report loan delinquencies.

August is expected to be a challenging month for maturing commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) loans. According to Fitch Ratings, eight U.S. CMBS loans with balances greater than $20 million that are scheduled to mature next month are likely to default. Two-thirds of these Fitch-rated loans were originated in 2005 and typically had five year terms, little to no amortization, and below market coupons, which will likely result in an increase in maturity defaults in today's higher mortgage rate environment with stricter underwriting standards, Fitch said.

Prommis Solutions, LLC, an Atlanta-based provider of technology-enabled solutions to the mortgage banking industry, has appointed John Marecki as a VP within the company's East Coast foreclosure operations unit. In this new role, Marecki is responsible for managing a multi-state foreclosure platform with an immediate focus on spearheading the company's Florida expansion efforts.