Home prices continued to reclaim lost ground in September, up 3.6 percent annually with increases recorded for every corner of the country, Clear Capital reported Tuesday. Improvements have been so strong, in fact, the real estate valuation firm says yearly growth is forecast to shake off winter's chill and continue through the first quarter of 2013. That is, if federal lawmakers can keep from squashing consumer confidence and agree on a resolution to the looming ""fiscal cliff"" that awaits at year-end without letting market uncertainties fester all the way up until the deadline.

Safeguard Properties announced Monday that as of the start of October, its Compliance Connections division has processed more than 10,000 code violations for the 2012 calendar year and has grown its roster of participating municipalities to 600. Both milestones represent an annual growth rate of over 300 percent.

More than 800 homeowners from across Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska came together with local business leaders, real estate professionals, politicians, and civil rights leaders this week in support of homeownership. Speakers at the rally put the importance of homeownership into perspective when they told the audience that during the worst of this recession, roughly 3.2 million Americans were out of work as a result of the housing downturn.

Mortgage Contracting Services LLC (MCS) commemorated the official opening of its newest facility in Ruston, Louisiana, this week with a ribbon-cutting event. MCS provides property preservation services, inspections, and REO property maintenance to mortgage servicers nationwide. The Ruston facility is the company's third.

Mortgage lenders who survived the residential mortgage meltdown must now brace for repurchase demands from their third-party investors — and for the refusal of their liability insurers to defend and indemnify them against these demands. Mortgage lenders should be prepared to protect themselves against such denials of coverage.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is suing the global investment firm UBS Securities for allegedly falsely representing the level of risk associated with mortgage-backed securities (MBS) the firm sold to two federal credit unions. According to NCUA officials, the defaults and losses that resulted directly contributed to the collapse of both credit unions. The case against UBS marks the sixth outstanding suit brought by NCUA against securities issuers. The agency has settled similar claims worth more than $170 million with three securities issuers.

Former President Bill Clinton will stop off at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, before making his way to the Five Star Conference and Expo in Dallas, Texas, where he is scheduled to address the mortgage industry's largest gathering of default servicing professionals. Media outlets were abuzz Monday with news that Clinton is slated to give the official nomination speech naming President Barack Obama as his party's presidential candidate on Wednesday, September 5, just two days before his speech at the 2012 Five Star Conference.

DS News interviewed REO4Kids member Kelly Anne Porter to learn more about the children's charity initiative. Porter is an REO broker based in the North Texas area. REO4Kids members work with local and national communities by providing outreach programs, training, and fundraising activities. Members also donate $100 for every REO transaction closed. Since 2009, members have raised more than $600,000 nationwide.

With vacant homes stretching the capacity of banks' balance sheets and homebuyer demand lackluster at best, short sales are becoming a top loss mitigation choice for private lenders and investors, particularly in especially hard-hit markets. According to Barclays Capital, the benefits of pursuing a short sale are compelling for servicers and investors who are able to liquidate delinquent loans in an expedited fashion with fewer payment and interest (P&I) advances and who take ""quasi"" possession of the property in better condition and at better prices than REO, lowering severities.

REO Allegiance, a national property preservation firm, recently announced that its president and CEO Lisa Sadaoui has been nominated and selected as a Leading Woman Entrepreneur and Business Owner of New Jersey by New Jersey Monthly Magazine. Nominees were selected for the award based on innovation, market potential, community involvement, and advocacy for women.