March marked another month of stabilization for the residential real estate market in Massachusetts. According to a report released Thursday by The Warren Group, a provider of real estate data in New England, both sales and prices of single-family homes and condos in the Bay State surged in March compared to a year earlier.

Wells Fargo Securities announced Thursday that it has expanded its residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) platform to provide a full suite of advisory, structuring, research, distribution, and trading services to its residential origination and investing clients and to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage (WFHM).

On Thursday, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) released findings of a new study indicating that subprime lending and subsequent resulting foreclosures contained a clear racial component not explained by objective underwriting criteria. According to the study, African American and Latino borrowers were more likely to receive a subprime loan and go into foreclosure than similarly situated white homeowners, controlling for credit risk and other borrower, neighborhood, and loan characteristics.

Borrowers who refinanced in the first quarter of 2010 reaped the benefits of low interest rates. In fact, one-half of borrowers who refinanced their conventional loans during the first three months of this year lowered their mortgage interest rate by at least 16 percent, according to Freddie Mac's quarterly refinance report. In addition to lowering their interest rate, 72 percent of borrowers who refinanced in the first quarter kept their loan balance largely unchanged or reduced their loan balance outstanding as a result of the refinance.

Due to the high levels of home price declines and unemployment in the Sunshine State, Florida Housing Finance Corporation was selected as one of five state agencies to receive federal funding from the administration's Hardest Hit Fund. Of the initial $1.5 billion allocated for these markets, Florida Housing is slated to get $418 million. Pending approval of its proposal, the state plans to use the money to pay up to nine months of mortgage payments for unemployed homeowners and cover legal fees for some borrowers to fight foreclosure.

Mortgage rates seem to be in a holding pattern. While still relatively low, rates remained flat for the second week in a row, Freddie Mac and Bankrate reported Thursday. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.06 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending April 29, 2010, barely budging from last week's average of 5.07 percent. And 15-year fixed-rate mortgages showed no movement from last week, holding steady at 4.39 percent with an average 0.7 point.

Warren, Michigan-based Five Brothers, a nationwide provider of commercial and residential mortgage default management solutions, recently announced the release of two new service offerings, including a data input service and a document storage system. The QuickData HUD P260 bid data input service provides efficient data entry, including photo transfers, into the new HUD P260 Portal. And the IntelliStorageTM Web-based document storage system provides secure electronic storage of business-critical documents.

March was a positive month for the Twin Cities housing market, according to a report released Wednesday by the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors (MAAR). Using data from the regional multiple listing service of Minnesota, MAAR found that the number of new listings, active listings, pending sales, and closed sales in the Twin Cities all experienced positive gains from February to March.

In an announcement Wednesday, the First American Corporation said it has selected CoreLogic as the new corporate name for its Information Solutions Group. This new name is part of the previously-announced split off of First American's Information Solutions Group and Financial Services Group--a separation targeted to close on June 1, 2010.

The Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH), one of five state housing finance agencies slated to receive federal funding through the administration's Hardest Hit Fund, has submitted a proposal to the U.S. Treasury Department detailing how it plans to use this financial aid. According to the proposal, the funding has the potential to assist approximately 4,000 households across Arizona and will be used for permanent mortgage modifications, second mortgage settlement, temporary mortgage assistance, and homeowner advocacy through HUD counselors.