With delinquency rates at sky-high levels, servicers and counselors continue to be inundated with requests from homeowners for loan modifications. As a result of these high demands, industry leaders have realized that new tools are needed to collect complete information from homeowners more efficiently and to develop better communication between servicers and counseling professionals. Freddie Mac recently released a report highlighting two Web-based communication tools that are doing just that.

Despite a plunge in purchase applications in the days following the expiration of the homebuyer tax credit, total mortgage application volume inched up 3.9 percent for the week ending May 7, 2009, due to a surge in refinance applications, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. Accordindg to MBA's Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey, the purchase index tumbled 9.5 percent from the week prior, but the refinance index soared 14.8 percent.

Stewart Lender Services (SLS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Houston-based Stewart Title Company, announced Tuesday that during the past year it has processed more than 725,000 distressed mortgage loans and generated more than 1 million lines of outreach to delinquent borrowers. This, the company said, proves that SLS is a strong, stable, and large-scale provider of loss mitigation services for mortgage lenders and servicers.

In order to bring high-tech loan modification solutions direct to consumers, HOPE LoanPort has launched a new, consumer-based Web site--HopeLoanPortal.org. According to a statement by the organization, this site will complement HOPE LoanPort's web-based housing counselor tool that is designed to streamline submission of completed loan modification applications.

SharperLending, LLC announced Tuesday that it has expanded its Appraisal Firewall technology product to offer automated appraisal reviews through a new partnership with MDA Lending Solutions and ValuationLogic, Inc. As a result of this expansion, lenders can now run each appraisal through a rule set that performs a detailed check for errors and takes a matter of seconds to complete. This, the companies said, will help lenders make faster underwriting decisions and increase loan production.

The U.S. Census Bureau said Monday that the national mover rate increased to 12.5 percent in 2009, up from 11.9 percent in 2008--the lowest rate since the Bureau began tracking the data in 1984. According to the federal agency, 37.1 million people changed residences in the United States within the past year, jumping from 35.2 million in 2008.

Like a ripple effect, the recent recession will impact Americans for years to come, according to a new report published by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The study--Household Reaction to the Financial Crisis: Scared or Scarred?--found that the current financial crisis exceeded the devastation created by other post-World War II recessions, and is likely to have lasting impacts on the values and behavior of the current generation, much as the Great Depression had on its generation.

The first quarter of 2010 proved to be one of improvement for many housing markets across the nation. According to the latest survey by the National Association of Realtors, a growing number of metropolitan areas experienced price gains from a year ago, and most states saw notable increases in home sales from last year.

According to a recent report by DebtX, a full-service loan sale advisor based in Boston, the aggregate value of DebtX-priced commercial real estate (CRE) loans that collateralized commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) dropped to 75.9 percent as of March 31, 2010, inching down from 76.5 percent as of February 26, 2010 and 81.2 percent as of March 31, 2009.

Stewart Title Company and Stewart Title Guaranty Company announced the launch of a new program Monday to help title agencies reduce title claims, escrow theft, and mortgage fraud. Provided by PropertyInfo Corporation, a Stewart company that develops, supports, and distributes technology for the real estate industry, AgencySecure provides access to Stewart agency technology and services.