The nation's mortgage delinquency rate for loans 60 days or more overdue continued its steady decline in the fourth quarter of 2014, falling to 3.29 percent – representing a 14 percent drop from the same quarter in 2013 (3.84 percent), according to TransUnion's latest mortgage report.

Bank of America has begun the process of paying out $7 billion in consumer relief as part of its record $16.65 billion settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and six states last August, according to an announcement on the settlement monitor's website. Professor Eric D. Green, independent monitor of the settlement, announced in his initial progress report since the settlement was reached six months ago that Bank of America had correctly claimed credit of approximately $8.94 million for 100 first-lien loan modifications meant to help make mortgages more affordable for struggling homeowners

Longtime housing finance policy expert Bonnie McCloskey has joined Washington, D.C.-based business advisory firm The Collingwood Group as vice president, according to an announcement from the firm.

Property-related technology solutions provider Aspen Grove Solutions has announced the hiring of Ron Briggs as the company's business solutions architect.

The commenting period for the proposed amendments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)'s TILA/RESPA rules is open until March 16, according to the Federal Register website.

The nation's first mortgage default index stayed flat in January while the national composite credit default index rose slightly for the sixth straight month, according to the S&P Dow Jones Indices and S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices for January 2015 released Tuesday. According to the data, the first mortgage default index remained at 1.02 percent from December to January after experiencing its largest increase in 15 months (five basis points) from November to December. January's first mortgage default level is still 14 basis points above its lowest level of 0.88 percent, which was reached in July 2014.

Three financial institutions – Citigroup Global Markets, Goldman Sachs, and UBS Securities – have agreed to a settlement for $235 million with a pension fund that bought Residential Capital to resolve allegations of fraud on the part of the underwriters involving mortgage-backed securities, according to media reports.

As the size of Bank of America's delinquent loans portfolio is shrinking, so is the megabank's workforce – late last week, the bank announced that it was laying off 250 employees from its delinquent mortgage loan division in its headquarters city of Charlotte, North Carolina.

With a little help from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), American consumers can overcome the single biggest obstacle to homeownership – saving for a down payment – and increase their savings to a level that will allow them to finally own a home.

With the nation's homeownership rates similar to those of 50 years ago, the foreclosure rate is significantly higher compared to the early 1960s. The main reason for the increase in foreclosure risk while the homeownership rate remains little changed is leverage, according to CoreLogic chief economist Sam Khater. The economist noted that leverage remains unaddressed by those responsible for initiating housing policy, and he recommended in his study that they may want to consider the ability to manage leverage in order to obtain financial stability in the residential housing market.