In an effort to revolutionize the way investors buy REO property, Austin, Texas-based Econohomes, a nationwide direct seller of residential REO properties, has launched a new Web site. Built on a robust technology platform, Econohomes' Web site combines superior information on its extensive nationwide real estate inventory with the ability for investors to bundle and purchase groups of REO properties at significant discounts.

More than 12,700 Bank of America customers now have a permanent loan modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), according to the bank's monthly report to the Department of the Treasury. Up from 3,200 completed modifications reported in December, Bank of America quadrupled its number of permanent HAMP modifications in just 30 days.

As home price reductions continue to level off, the housing market is beginning to show signs of stability, according to a recent report by San Francisco-based Trulia, Inc., a real estate search engine. Findings of the report showed that as of February 1, 2010, 21 percent of homes currently on the market in the United States experienced at least one price cut.

To meet the ever-increasing need for successful analysis and evaluation of loss mitigation efforts, loan servicers and lenders are embracing online technology. As a result, Denver-based Mortgage Cadence, Inc., a provider of enterprise lending solutions for the financial services industry, has entered into the mortgage servicing technology arena with the introduction of the Loss Mitigation Gateway to provide online initiation, management, and execution of the loss mitigation process.

Maponics, a Vermont-based provider of location-based data and information, announced Tuesday that it has been chosen by the Lender Processing Services (LPS) Real Estate Group to provide the boundary data required to enable local searching of its property databases.

In an effort to help servicers ensure around-the-clock maintenance, Tampa, Florida-based Mortgage Contracting Services (MCS), a nationwide property preservation and inspection service provider to the financial services industry, has launched a 24-hour call center to specialize in emergency response for tenant-occupied properties.

As DSNews.com reported Friday, the congressional panel charged with overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program recently released an analysis of the commercial real estate market. According to the Real Estate Roundtable, a Washington, D.C.-based group bringing together leaders in the real estate industry, the report underscores the need for additional federal policy action to support economic recovery and stabilize commercial real estate markets.

Service 1st Valuation and Settlement Service, Inc., an appraisal management company headquartered in Pittsburgh, announced Monday that it has entered into a partnership with Pittsburgh-based ValuAmerica, a provider of settlement services.

Trexglobal.com, a rental software developer headquartered in Fremont, California, recently announced the launch of an online property management portal that will provide property manager, landlords, and real estate professionals with easy access to information on managing real estate investments.

Mutual of Omaha Bank, based in Omaha, Nebraska, was recently approved as a lead bank partner for Fannie Mae's acquisition, development, and construction (AD&C) financing program, a secondary market program in which Fannie Mae buys participation interests in construction loans originated by its lending partners.