DocuTech Corporation announced two additions to its Product Management Team, adding Anthony Williamson and transitioning Judy Lysaght to a new role within the firm.

In a recent ranking of the best beach town's by RealtyTrac, Hawaii held a slim majority over California and Florida with 11 of the top 20 beach markets in the nation. The company based its selections on four criteria: average temperature, percentage of sunny days, percentage of days with good air quality, and crime rates.

A curious piece of text is appearing in some homeowner's loan modification agreements—by accepting a modification from a bank or non-bank servicer, the homeowner agrees to never publicly say, write, or post anything negative about the company doing the modification. Originally in a report from Reuters, Ocwen, Bank of America, and PNC Financial Services Group are adding new terms to their modification contracts to prevent homeowners from publicly disparaging the companies.

Lynn Effinger, EVP at ZVN Properties and a veteran of the mortgage servicing industry, recently moderated a special panel session on the fast-tracking of the foreclosure process on vacant and abandoned properties. The panel was held at the 12th Annual National REO Brokers Association (NRBA) Education Conference in Broomfield, Colorado.

For the first time this year, existing-home sales and total inventory increased in April, while home price growth moderated. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), total existing-home sales, which the group defines as single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops, rose 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.65 million in April 2014.

Linear Title & Closing recently announced the appointment of Nathan Chandler as COO. Chandler will directly report to Linear Title & Closing's CEO, Nick Liuzza.

The Data and Analytics division of Black Knight Financial Services released its "First Look" at mortgage loan data as of the end of April 2014. The report found that the foreclosure rate is at its lowest point since 2008, and the number of seriously delinquent loans not in foreclosure is down over 200,000 since last year.

In a new report from PropertyRadar on California single-family home sales, the company found that sales were up 20 percent in April from March. However, sales fell on a yearly basis for the month, declining 13.3 percent. Despite the gains in April, year-to-date sales volume is the lowest it has been since 2008.

For the fourth straight month, the inventory of homes for sale has declined 0.4 percent annually in April, according to Zillow. Despite home values falling modestly month-over-month, inventory remains tight with 21 of the nation's largest 35 metros experiencing waning inventory.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector General (FHFAOIG) released its latest update on the status of the development of the Common Securitization Platform (CSP). In a recent speech, FHFA director Mel Watt said the continued development of the Common Securitization Platform is one of the most important goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac going forward.