Government

Compared to 2011, home prices continued to show strong gains in October and posted their biggest yearly increase since June 2006, according to data from CoreLogic. Home prices--including distressed sale--climbed 6.3 percent higher year-over-year in October, marking the eighth consecutive month of yearly gains. With the conclusion of the home-buying season, home prices dropped by 0.2 percent from September to October. According to the data provider's pending home price index, prices should further increase yearly by 7.1 percent in November.

Clear Capital released a new market report Tuesday, tracking home prices through the end of November. Nationally, quarterly price gains were cut by more than half compared to readings from the month before. For November, home prices edged up just 1 percent. Even with fewer fair market sellers listing their homes, Clear Capital says REO sales held steady at 18.4 percent of total sales--a level that will put minimial pressure on home prices should it hold through the winter months.

A controversial bill that would extend an increase on guarantee fees (g-fees) on mortgages backed by the GSEs or the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) has passed in the House of Representatives. The bill, H.R. 6429 proposes reforms for visas offered to immigrants who possess advanced training in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

The Center for Responsible Lending, a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting consumers from predatory lending practices, and the Financial Services Roundtable, a group of representatives from the nation's largest financial institutions, have come together to ask Congress to extend the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, which will otherwise expire at the end of this year. The two groups argue that if lawmakers fail to act, it will make it difficult for struggling homeowners to accept short sale, and even loan modification, offers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ended its investigation of potential fraud in offering documents for mortgage-backed securities (MBS) sold by Wells Fargo, Bloomberg reports. The biggest home lender in the country announced in a regulatory filing that the SEC notified the bank on November 20 that the agency was ending its probe without enforcement.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) has been elected chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Hensarling replaces Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Alabama) who headed the committee for the past six years. Hensarling is a conservative supporter of a limited government and a free market economy. He has fought to cut government spending and reduce debt.

Despite a number of potentially damaging headwinds, the ongoing housing recovery will remain sustainable for the foreseeable future, analysts for Capital Economics say in a recently released report. The housing industry's rapid rebound took many experts by surprise--even the researchers who authored the report admit they ""have been slightly taken aback"" by the recovery's speed. However, they point to several major indicators that show the current upturn is more than a temporary blip or a false recovery.

Freddie Mac's single-family seriously delinquent rate decreased from 3.37 percent in September to 3.31 percent in October--the lowest it's been since August 2009. The GSE's multifamily delinquency rate also fell, from 0.27 percent in September to 0.24 percent for the month of October. At the same time, Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio continued to shrink, however increased purchase and issuance volume pushed the company closer to positive growth for the first time in more than a year and a half.

Cincinnati-based eLynx, a portfolio company of American Capital, announced its compliance with all guidelines recently published by the IRS for obtaining electronic signatures on Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinanced more than 90,000 mortgage loans through the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) in September, bringing the program's total reach to 1.7 million since its inception in 2009, according to the latest refinance report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The rate of HARP refinances has increased since the program was revised in the fall of 2011 to expand borrower eligibility. Year-to-date, 709,000 loans have been refinanced through HARP, already far exceeding last year's total of about 400,000.