The first three months of 2010 marked the sixth consecutive quarter that sales in both the existing-home and condo markets in Florida increased on a year-over-year basis, according to the latest housing statistics from Florida Realtors. A total of 38,846 existing homes sold statewide in the first quarter of this year, up 24 percent from the same period last year. And 16,897 existing condos sold in the the quarter, surging 67 percent from year-ago levels.

A new technology partnership between DocuSign and PropertyInfo, a Stewart subsidiary, was announced Wednesday. The two companies said they are joining forces to accelerate online transactions for real estate closings by integrating DocuSign's eSignature service with PropertyInfo's SureClose management system.

Fitch Ratings recently conducted a study of all securitized non-agency California mortgage loans, finding that delinquency rates in California are fairly similar to national levels. But a closer look revealed dramatic differences among various regions within the 382 metropolitan statistical areas tracked by Fitch. In fact, Fitch found that California has both the best performing region in the country - San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City - and some of the worst performing regions, such as Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario.

Borrowers who refinanced in the first quarter of 2010 overwhelmingly chose fixed-rate loans, regardless of whether their original loan was an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or fixed-rate, Freddie Mac reported Wednesday. In fact, according to Freddie Mac's quarterly Product Transition Report, fixed-rate loans accounted for more than 95 percent of refinance loans during the quarter.

Bank of America announced Thursday that it has completed a total of 56,400 permanent mortgage modifications under the administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), including nearly 24,000 in April alone. ""We were able to convert close to 24,000 Bank of America customers from trial to permanent modifications in the past month, completing the process for more homeowners than in any previous month,"" said Jack Schakett, credit loss mitigation strategies executive for Calabasas, California-based Bank of America Home Loans.

Mortgage rates continued to inch down for the week ending May 13, 2010, hitting the lowest level seen so far this year, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to 4.93 percent, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages sank to 4.3 percent.

KDX Ventures, a joint venture between Boston-based DebtX and Hillsborough, North Carolina-based KEMA Advisors, announced Wednesday that it successfully auctioned a HUD portfolio containing $306 million in non-performing multifamily and healthcare loans. The portfolio consisted of 25 multifamily commercial real estate loans and one healthcare loan, ranging in size from $1.6 million to $44.3 million.

Bolstered by low interest rates and the homebuyer tax credit, the Illinois housing market continued to stabilize in the first quarter of 2010, according to a report released Tuesday by the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR). On a year-over-year basis, first quarter home sales were up in 54 of 99 Illinois counties. And 43 of 99 counties across the state posted median price increases from last year.

HOPE LoanPort announced Wednesday that Citi has committed to use its proprietary technology to assist troubled homeowners. HOPE LoanPort is a new web-based housing counselor tool developed by the HOPE NOW Alliance that streamlines the submission of completed loan modification applications.

Marking a 10 percent increase from April, 22 percent of listings on the market as of May 1, 2010 experienced at least one price reduction, San Francisco-based Trulia reported Wednesday. According to Trulia, the total dollar amount slashed from home prices was $25 billion, and the average discount for price-reduced homes continued to hold steady at 10 percent off the original listing price.