As the commercial real estate market continues to struggle, it is essential for both investors and borrowers to have tools to easily manage their loans. In response to this need, Dallas-based Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. (FICS), a commercial mortgage technology specialist that provides in-house commercial loan servicing software to the mortgage industry, said it has rewritten its LoanStat service to enhance investors' and borrowers' experiences when viewing real-time commercial loan information online.

In an effort to broaden its geographic diversity on a selective basis, Los Angeles-based Mesa West Capital has opened a new office in New York. The privately-held commercial real estate portfolio lender provides first-mortgage loans on office, industrial, retail, flagged hotels, and multifamily assets primarily in the Western United States, and says it has over $1 billion to deploy in 2010.

In an effort to bring sophisticated business intelligence tools to the mortgage marketplace, AllRegs, headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, and Denver-based Motivity Solutionc, Inc., have joined forces. Both AllRegs and Motivity were recipients of the 2009 Mortgage Technology magazine award. Through this collaboration, the companies plan to implement intelligence around mortgage lender product and guideline information.

The slew of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the mortgage industry last year launched a trend that will accelerate in 2010 and 2011, according to recent predictions by the investment bank Berkery Noyes. Lenders, vendors, and servicers will continue to embrace tactical acquisitions to shore up product lines, capture customers, increase market share, and ensure they are prepared for the next wave of forward moving originations, Berkery Noyes said.

For the week ending January 29, 2010, mortgage rates inched down further and mortgage applications continued to increase, according to the Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey released Wednesday by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, jumped 21 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the prior week.

The appointment of Douglas Moritz as associate VP of multifamily at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) was announced Monday by John A. Courson, president and CEO of the company. ""Doug is a seasoned real estate finance professional whose experience spans more than twenty years in the commercial/multifamily industry,"" Courson said.

Providence, Rhode Island-based Lincoln Appraisal & Settlement Services, a national appraisal management and settlement services company, announced Tuesday that it has solidified a partnership with Generation Mortgage Company, a national reverse mortgage company headquartered in Atlanta.

Following the recent acquisition of Real Estate Econometrics (REE) by Real Capital Analytics (RCA), a global research firm based in New York City, Dr. Sam Chandan of REE was appointed as chief economist, EVP, and a member of the management committee at RCA, according to an announcement Tuesday by the firm.

In an effort to bring Web-based tools to homeowners in need of foreclosure prevention assistance, Columbia, Maryland-based IndiSoft and Financial Literacy Solutions (FLS), headquartered in Coral Springs, Florida, have entered into a strategic partnership.

Following a market swing driven by response to the homebuyer tax credit, pending home sales in December have leveled off, according to a report Tuesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). In November, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI), a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed during the month, dropped 16.4 percent after surging in preceding months before expiration of the original tax credit. After the credit was extended, the PHSI gained 1 percent in December, and NAR says it's a sign of stabilization.