In an effort to further serve financially troubled homeowners in New England, Bank of America Home Loans has opened a new customer outreach center in Dedham, Massachusetts. The new help center will serve customers in the Boston area and surrounding region. These at-risk borrowers will be able to schedule face-to-face meetings with Bank of America homeownership retention specialists who will help determine customers' eligibility for the federal government's Making Home Affordable program or other Bank of America modification or foreclosure avoidance programs.

It's evident that the homebuyer tax credit gave a much-needed boost to the housing market. What's unclear is how much of this heightened volume will be sustained. Due to the extension of the closing deadline for this ever-popular government incentive, only time will tell the answer to this question. Regardless, the housing market continued to ""hold its own"" in June, as both home sales and prices increased over year-ago levels, RE/MAX recently reported.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has promoted Steven Kenny to commercial real estate banking region executive for the states of New York and New Jersey. In his new position, Kenny will be responsible for leading a team of real estate professionals who deliver a range of comprehensive financial solutions for a broad array of clients, including the real estate development and investment sector.

First Michigan Bank announced Thursday that it has regained the approval of Freddie Mac to sell and service mortgages in the Port Huron community and throughout Michigan. This approval had been terminated for the former Citizens First Bank on April 16, 2010. And just two weeks after Freddie Mac withdrew its approval, regulators closed the bank. First Michigan acquired the assets and deposits of Citizens First, and within 60 days the bank demonstrated the financial strength and quality control necessary to regain Freddie Mac's approval to sell and service mortgages.

Although both new and existing home sales were down in May, it's not all bad news. According to a new survey by Relocation.com, more Americans are positioning themselves to purchase a home in the near future. The survey found that some families are opting to rent while they research for deals to purchase a more desirable home in their area. There's no surefire way to determine when these sidelined homebuyers will enter the market, but the survey results were encouraging.

So far, 2010 has proven to be a good year for Citigroup Inc. The New York-based bank released its second quarter earnings report on Friday, reporting a net income of $2.7 billion, or $0.09 per diluted share. This marked the second consecutive profitable quarter for the bank. All told, Citigroup earned $7.1 billion of net income during the first six months of this year.

RoundPoint Financial Group, an integrated mortgage servicing and origination firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina, recently named Dave Worrall as its new EVP and national servicing manager. In his new role, Worrall will manage loan servicing for RoundPoint's entire portfolio, leading its unique asset management approach to servicing.

Business Solutions, an affiliate of the American Bankers Association (ABA), recently selected Wells Fargo Funding as its newest mortgage solutions provider for secondary market sales of residential mortgages. Under the agreement, Wells Fargo Funding will offer eligible ABA member banks a full range of products and services.

Lincoln Appraisal & Settlement Services, a national appraisal management and settlement services company, has added Home State Bank to its growing list of clients. ""We are excited to begin working with Home State Bank,"" said George Panichas, chairman and CEO of Lincoln Appraisal & Settlement Services. ""Their reputation for providing sincere personal service, along with their history of supporting the community and their dedication to their customers is admirable. We look forward to a long and successful business partnership.""

Very little activity was seen in the realm of mortgage rates this week, as the historical lows observed in weeks past held fairly steady, Freddie Mac and Bankrate reported Thursday. According to Freddie Mac's weekly survey, 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.57 percent this week, and 15-year fixed-rate mortgages came in at 4.06 percent. Bankrate reported a minor uptick in rates, but the movement was marginal. The tracking company said 30-year rates averaged 4.77 percent, and 15-year rates averaged 4.23 percent.