Government

Industry data suggests by the end of 2010, more than 5 million homes had been foreclosed as a result of the recent housing crisis, and some anticipate another 8 million to 10 million more foreclosures will make their way through the pipeline over the next few years. However, as the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP) points out, this is only part of the picture. About 20 percent of all foreclosed properties have been rental properties, according to a recent NLCHP report. In fact, about 40 percent of all families evicted in foreclosure are renters not owners, according to NLCHP.

Year-to-date, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have refinanced nearly 800,000 loans through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Thursday. Since HARP's 2009 inception, the program has refinanced 1.8 million loans, with 790,619 of those loans refinanced in 2012 as of October. In October alone, more than 81,613 homeowners were refinanced through the program. Underwater loans continued to find relief through the program, with a little less than half of the loans refinanced in October in negative equity.

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris issued a statement Thursday that served as a reminder that the California Homeowner Bill of Rights will soon take effect. The official start date for the landmark bill is January 1, 2013.

Mortgage rates went in both directions this week as investors mulled over recently released data on inflation and housing construction. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.37 percent, up from the previous week's 3.32 percent. On the other hand, the 15-year fixed fell one basis point to 2.65 percent. Bankrate's weekly national survey of mortgage rates saw its biggest week-to-week increase since March, with the benchmark 30-year fixed averaging 3.62 percent--a 10-basis point jump.

Real GDP growth for the third quarter was revised up again, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday, reaching a 3.1 percent annualized growth rate. It was only the third time in the last five years the quarterly growth rate topped 3.0 percent. Economists had forecast a 2.8 percent growth.

First time claims for unemployment insurance increased 17,000 to 361,000 for the week ended December 15, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 359,000. The previous week’s report was revised upward to 344,000 from the originally reported 343,000, an unexpected sharp drop of 27,000 initial filings.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Acting Commissioner Carol Galante may have earned a new ally on Capitol Hill. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) announced he feels comfortable supporting Galante's bid to become FHA commissioner after receiving a letter detailing her commitment to reforming FHA's underwriting requirements and restoring its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund to health.

Freddie Mac CFO Ross J. Kari is making plans to retire in the second half of 2013, the GSE announced. While Kari has not yet selected an official date to depart from Freddie Mac, he informed the company he intends to retire in the latter half of the year following his 55th birthday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has assembled a GSE Single Family Task Force to revisit the association's 2009 proposal for the future of the secondary market and to further discourse on this topic. The task force will work in two phases. First, they will review the 2009 position and determine potential issues during a transition. Next, they will put together a ""roadmap"" for the transition. MBA's 2009 proposal supports government participation in the mortgage market, but a limited one. The announcement of the new GSE Single Family Task Force comes on the heels of a white paper published by ""MBA's Multifamily Task Force.

Short sales continued to increase in October, while foreclosure starts fell, according to data from HOPE NOW. Completed short sales reached 38,518 in October, representing a 13 percent increase from September. Meanwhile, HOPE NOW also reported nearly 6 million struggling homeowners have received a permanent modification since 2007. Among the modifications, 4.8 million were proprietary loan modifications, while 1.1 million mods were through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).