On Tuesday, American Land Lease, Inc., a real estate investment trust headquartered in Clearwater, Florida, announced its new president and CEO and its new COO. David B. Lentz will serve as president and CEO of the company, and Shannon E. Smith was named COO of the company and will continue to serve as CFO.

In an effort to expand access to an innovative form of affordable homeownership that can stabilize neighborhoods and help families build wealth, the Ford Foundation, a nonprofit grant-making organization based in New York, has given a $1.2 million grant to NCB Capital Impact, a nonprofit community development organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

According to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by real estate Web site Zillow.com, mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages, 15-year fixed mortgages, and 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages all fell last week. The weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow for 30-year fixed mortgages decreased six basis points last week to 4.

Mortgage companies with significant claim rates against the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) mortgage insurance program were the focus of an initiative announced today by Kenneth M. Donohue, HUD inspector general, and David H. Stevens, FHA commissioner.

Although the Obama administration continues to search for a solution for homeowners facing foreclosure, the reality of the situation is only about 4 percent of these at-risk homeowners receive long-term mortgage help, according to a recent report by CNN. Nearly 2 million housing units in the Unites States are in foreclosure or are bank-owned, and more are expected to follow, RealtyTrac said.

Marking the second consecutive month price reductions have decreased, 21 percent of homes currently on the market in the United States as of January 1, 2010 have experienced at least one price cut, according to an announcement Tuesday by Trulia.com, a real estate search engine.

Although the Obama administration has worked to suppress foreclosures, it appears these efforts may not be enough, according to Bank Foreclosure Sale, a foreclosure listing service.

The residential property market has slowly made progress toward recovery, but the commercial real estate market isn't off the hook. As predictions appear universally bleak, many real estate experts continue to expect a steep decline in this market. The last several years have seen liberal lending in the commercial market, said Thomas Bible, broker for VIP Executive Realty in Florida.

In an announcement Wednesday, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, Rep. Debra Hilstrom, and Sen. Linda Scheid said they would try again this year to get the Homeowner-Lender Medication Act enacted into law. This foreclosure mediation bill aims to provide a process through which borrowers facing foreclosure can negotiate with lenders in an attempt to save their homes, but it was vetoed last year by Governor Pawlenty.

In an announcement Monday, Franklin Credit Management Corporation (FCMC), a specialty consumer finance company based in Jersey City, New Jersey, said Jimmy Yan will join the company as EVP and managing director of servicing and asset recovery operations.