Encore Multi-Family, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Encore Enterprises, Inc., announced Monday that Brad Miller has been named president of the company. Miller has more than three decades' experience in real estate investment and development and brings multiple market expertise in investment analysis, distresses asset acquisition, fee management, and complex land settlements to his new position with the company.

Data regarding Massachusetts foreclosures in January was mixed, according to the most recent report released Tuesday by The Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data in New England. While lenders initiated fewer foreclosures in January, the number of completed foreclosures increased.

Valeo Fund, a private equity fund based in Dallas, is being introduced to investors in the United States, Europe, and Latin America who are seeking to invest in the pending recovery in the U.S. commercial real estate (CRE) market.

According to statistics from Miami-based Bank Foreclosures Sale, an online listing service, foreclosure rates in states across the nation were significantly lower in January. The company reported that the number of foreclosures for sale fell to 315,710, marking a 10 percent decline from December. While these positive figures may have some thinking ""housing recovery,"" experts say it is important to note that January's numbers are still 15 percent higher than a year earlier.

To further automate servicer processes, Santa Ana, California-based Veros Real Estate Solutions, a provider of risk management and collateral valuation services, recently added new capabilities to its Valuation Risk Management (VRM) platform. Veros said the new enhancements to the platform will allow servicers to automate several time-consuming processes as they struggle to deal with rapidly expanding delinquencies.

Americans remain strongly committed to federal support for homebuyers, and many believe the government should provide more protection against foreclosure, according to the results of a recent survey published by the National Association of Home Builders. Thirty-three percent of those surveyed say they are planning to buy a home in the near future. Personal financial concerns, as well as weakness in the housing market itself, were cited as reasons this statistic wasn't higher.

On a year-over-year basis, both existing-home and condo sales in the Sunshine State notably increased in January, according to the latest housing data released by Florida Realtors. Existing-home sales surged 24 percent, and existing-condo sales soared 81 percent.

It's still a buyers' market in Illinois. According to a recent report by the Illinois Association of Realtors (IAR), January marked the fifth consecutive month of growth in year-over-year home sales, while the statewide median price logged its first move upward since September 2007.

Charlotte-based Wachovia Corp., the No. 1 bank in Raleigh-Durham market share, recently won a $10.5 million foreclosure judgment against a Homestead, Florida trailer park owner who planned to build an apartment complex on the property, Triangle Business Journal reported Monday.

Foreclosures continue to affect thousands of homeowners across the nation, and as a result, both the Attorney General in Idaho and Illinois said mortgage-related filings dominated their top-10 consumer complaints list for 2009.