Morningstar, Inc., a Chicago-based provider of independent investment research, announced Wednesday that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Horsham, Pennsylvania-based Realpoint, LLC, a nationally recognized statistical ratings organization that specializes in structured finance. As a result of this completed acquisition, Realpoint will become business unit within Morningstar's equity and credit research business. And over time, the company will be rebranded under Morningstar.

Valuation Partners, LLC, a national real estate valuations provider based in Sugar Land, Texas, recently announced that it is providing Appraiser Proximity Certifications on all new orders that provide proof that the appraiser chosen for a specific job has the local knowledge and expertise to complete the assignment. Through the use of geo-coding technology, each Appraiser Proximity Certification includes an automatically generated map showing the location of both the subject property and the appraiser's place of business. And prior to accepting the order, the appraiser is required to acknowledge that the distance between his or her office and the property is correct.

QualityFirst Real Estate, a San Diego-based real estate company specializing in REO properties, recently launched a new company Web site, providing real world expertise regarding short sales and foreclosure sales to homebuyers, buyers, and the lending community. Through this new site, buyers looking for great opportunities on a home can directly access QualityFirst's online listings of bank-owned homes for sale, the company said. And buyers looking for a home loan can take advantage of the site's mortgage information and loan calculator pages.

Short sales are being touted by some as the ""go-to"" alternative to foreclosure, but that doesn't mean there aren't risks involved in completing these transactions. In order to warn consumers and real estate agents about the potential perils and pitfalls of short sales, the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) has issued a consumer alert, Jeff Davi, DRE commissioner, announced Thursday.

Fannie Mae announced Thursday that it has entered into a new partnership with the Orlando agency of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Florida and the Florida Gulf Coast (CCCS) in order to accelerate response time and provide financial counseling to struggling Florida homeowners whose mortgages are owned by Fannie Mae and serviced by SunTrust. Under this partnership, CCCS will initiate a grassroots mail and telephone campaign focusing on eligible homeowners who are delinquent in their mortgage payments.

After holding steady for two weeks straight, mortgage rates fell to their lowest level in a month and a half this week, both Bankrate and Freddie Mac reported Thursday. Bankrate's market analysis shows that the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has dropped to 5.12 percent. A separate study by Freddie Mac puts the 30-year rate at a flat 5 percent. Rates on 15-year mortgages and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) also headed lower.

The housing market in Connecticut seems to be on the road to recovery. According to a report released Tuesday by the Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data in New England, sales of single-family homes and condos in Connecticut soared by double-digits in March. On a year-over-year basis, single-family home sales jumped 37 percent, and statewide condo sales surged 34.4 percent.

As part of its ongoing efforts to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, Chase announced Wednesday that it will host multi-day homeowner assistance events exclusively for struggling Chase homeowners in eight major markets across the United States. These events will take place over the next five months, during which up to 40 Chase counselors will work with homeowners for up to 12 hours a day for four or five days in a central location, such as a civic center or community college.

Community Bank Mortgage LLC, a subsidiary of Washington, D.C.-based American Bankers Association (ABA), announced Wednesday that it has selected Richmond, Virginia-based SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., as one of three preferred secondary market investors. As a result of this selection, owner banks of Community Bank Mortgage can sell loans on a servicing-released basis to SunTrust Mortgage and can access the company's full line of products, including jumbo loans.

In an effort to assist struggling homeowners with their mortgages, HOPE NOW, the administration's Making Home Affordable Program, and NeighborWorks America co-sponsored a three-day homeownership preservation event last week in Uniondale, New York. The event had representatives from 16 mortgage servicers and more than a dozen local HUD-approved housing counselors on hand to provide assistance to the 2,353 at-risk borrowers in attendance.