News spread quickly through the mortgage industry on Monday that long-standing auction house Hudson & Marshall (H&M) is being acquired by Fidelity National Financial (FNF). While industry reactions poured in, FNF's “hold” ratings began to switch to “buy” in many research firms. As part of this acquisition, FNF company ServiceLink is launching ServiceLink Auction.

Former senior loan officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co. admitted to a $33 million mortgage fraud scheme recently. A Florida federal judge accepted the plea and set the sentencing date for August 17. In exchange for shorter sentencing and other charges to be dropped, the $33 million will be paid in restitution.

After undergoing an extensive testing process, a mortgage document preparation vendor announced its Uniform Closing Dataset XML file has been certified by the GSEs. This new way of submitting documents will be required by Fannie and Freddie starting in the fall for all lenders selling to them. The company trusts this will bring consistency, transparency and clarity to the mortgage industry.

Immigration has a positive effect on the housing market according to speakers from a real estate conference reported on Friday. Sales activity and price will strengthen as the market becomes more saturated. Forecasts show that high immigrant sales activities will stem from five states.