The National REO Brokers Association announced this week that it has chosen a new board of directors for the organization. This new leadership team consists of three executive board members and twelve directors, which will provide direct regional leadership and support for the Nevada-based organization’s members nationwide.

While the share of distressed sales - REOs and short sales - is on the rise when tallying numbers nationwide, it's falling in California. The California Association of Realtors reports that the total ratio of all distressed property types sold statewide declined in March to 51 percent, down from 56 percent in February. REOs sold last month went for 88 percent less than non-distressed properties, while short sales had a median discount of 41 percent.

As home prices began heading further and further south, the term ""strategic default"" made its way into industry jargon...and into the minds of lending and servicing professionals already struggling to keep up with large volumes of borrowers who actually can't afford their mortgage payments. It's a fairly new phenomenon that the industry agrees needs addressing, but the problem is, how do you pinpoint a strategic defaulter? The credit assessment firm FICO says it's developed a method, using consumer behavior analytics, that will allow lenders to identify borrowers who might walk away.

Data released by S&P Indices and Experian showed a decline in mortgage default rates for the fourth straight month. The agencies' index of first mortgage defaults fell to 2.33 percent in March and is down 41 percent from a year earlier. Second mortgage defaults dropped to 1.42 percent, down 49 percent over the past year. Not only has the ratio of on-time mortgage payments improved, but the report indicates consumers are making headway on their debt obligations overall, with declines in monthly default rates across all major credit lines.

Standard & Poor's has lowered its outlook from stable to negative on the debt issues of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as the Federal Home Loan Bank System and the Farm Credit System Banks. The move follows the ratings agency's outlook revision on the United States earlier this week, also slipping from stable to negative. S&P says the outlook downgrades on the other four entities are because of their ties to the U.S. government. Should S&P's rating of the U.S. be lowered, Fannie's and Freddie's ratings would likely follow suit.

The New Democratic Coalition has added the nation's housing finance system to its list of things to ""modernize."" They've outlined principles for following through with the wind-down of Fannie and Freddie while maintaining a limited government role to ensure access to the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. But the debate is intense over whether the 30-year mortgage should stick around. With or without it, one research group says the numbers prove government guarantees aren't necessary to entice private investors.

Freddie Mac is offering a $1,000 selling agent bonus on its REO homes in the Las Vegas area, for which an offer is received by May 16, with escrow closed by July 1. REO buyers are getting an incentive too. Freddie Mac will pay up to 3.5 percent of the closing cost on purchases that meet the offer and escrow deadlines outlined above. Some homes will also come with a two-year limited home warranty.

Data released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Thursday shows further declines in residential property values. Home prices in the United States declined 1.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from January to February, according to FHFA's latest monthly house price index. FHFA's index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing conventional mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and FHFA says it is now at the same level seen in February 2004.

Interest rates on home loans have headed lower, after four straight weeks of increases. Data released by Freddie Mac Thursday shows the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.80 percent for the week ending April 21, 2011. The 15-year rate came in at 4.02 percent, and adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) also declined.

JJL Process Corporation, a technology provider in the process serving industry, recently announce the appointment of industry veteran Joel Rosenthal as the company's director of business development. Rosenthal joins JJL after nine years with a premier national debt buyer. For the past 20 years, JJL has specialized in serving collection papers, including those for homeowners association (HOA) foreclosures.