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Zillow: Housing Recovery Takes Off in Q2

After a somewhat slow first quarter, the national housing recovery took the pace up a few notches in Q2, Zillow reported. According to the company's second-quarter Real Estate Market Reports, the U.S. Zillow Home Value Index (HVI) rose to $161,100 as of the end of June--up 2.4 percent quarter-over-quarter and 5.8 percent year-over-year. While home value appreciation accelerated in Q2, it also spread to more areas across the country, reaching markets in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest that had previously had trouble keeping pace.

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FHFA: May Increase Marks 16 Months of Home Price Gains

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, home prices rose on a monthly basis for the 16th consecutive month in May. The agency's Home Price Index (HPI) reported monthly growth of 0.7 percent. On a yearly basis, the national HPI was up 7.3 percent. As of May, the index was 11.2 percent below its April 2007 peak and was roughly level with January 2005's value.

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Fitch Anticipates Continued Growth for Housing into 2014

In the backdrop of a slow growing economy, Fitch Ratings projects the housing recovery will expand this year and the next-just not at an explosive pace, according to a report. The forecast for 2013 is for existing-home sales to increase 7.5 percent and for new home sales to rise by 22 percent. Meanwhile, single-family starts should grow 18 percent, and multifamily starts should jump 25 percent.

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Report: FHA’s REO Disposition Strategy Weak Compared to GSEs

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) needs to work on improving its REO disposition strategy so it can bring in higher returns when properties go to sale, according to a recent report from the GAO. In fact, when compared to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the congressional watchdog found FHA disposes its REOs at a much slower pace and sees smaller returns. After examining foreclosure timelines, the GAO revealed the FHA takes about 340 days to dispose of its REOs after foreclosure, which is more than 60 percent longer than the GSEs average of 200 days.

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UBS Settles Mortgage Claims with FHFA

UBS announced Monday it has reached an agreement in principle with the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to settle claims related to soured residential mortgage-backed securities.

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Fed: Judicial Foreclosure Processes Thwart Price Gains

The number of days a property spends in delinquency status prior to foreclosure is relatively similar across all states. However, once a property enters foreclosure, the number of days it spends making its way through the foreclosure process and back to market varies drastically with the key determinant being whether a state is a judicial or nonjudicial state, according to information presented at Distressed Residential Real Estate: Dimensions, Impacts, and Remedies, a conference hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Rockefeller Institute of Government held in the fall.

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Fannie Mae Maintains Forecast for Faster Growth Despite Rising Rates

With July approaching its last week, economists at Fannie Mae are maintaining their forecast for greater economic growth in the second half of 2013. In its latest Economic and Housing Outlook, Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group points to steady year-to-date job creation, high consumer confidence, and positive housing data as proof the economy is on a positive, though modest, growth path.

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Eminent Domain Bill Seeks to Protect Taxpayers, Retirees

Representative John Campbell (R-CA) reintroduced a bill last week to limit potential harm to taxpayers and retirees if city and county governments were to use the power of eminent domain to take over underwater mortgages. To protect taxpayers, the bill proposes to prevent the GSEs from purchasing mortgage loans originating in counties that applied eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages within the past 10 years.

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