Appraisal practices have taken center stage lately with the roll out of the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) by the GSEs. And now, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has raised its own concerns over valuations of foreclosures, REOs, and short sales.

Mortgage interest rates slipped lower again this week, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) released Thursday by Freddie Mac. Frank Nothaft, the GSE’s VP and chief economist, said that along with the recent moderation in home price declines, lower rates are providing a big boost to the nation’s ailing housing market.

SigniaDocs, a Houston-based provider of eMortgage services, has named Harry Gardner to the post of chief strategy officer. Gardner is the former VP of industry technology at the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) and former president of MISMO (Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization).

Chase Bank announced this week that it has approved 138,000 trial mortgage modifications for struggling homeowners since it began processing loan workouts through President Obama’s Making Home Affordable program on April 6.

New York-based Cantor Fitzgerald, a global financial services firm, recently announced the launch of a new whole loans real estate division and the hiring of two securities and mortgage industry veterans as whole loan specialists within its Debt Capital Markets group.

Loan modifications made by mortgage lenders and servicers spiked during the first quarter of the year, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS).

Cleveland’s Safeguard Properties was among 96 Northeast Ohio companies honored at the 2009 Crain’s Leading EDGE Awards at Kent State University in May. In its third year, this prestigious award was created and developed by The Entrepreneurs EDGE, a non-profit organization that provides services, programs, education, civic and networking opportunities to mid-market companies to help them grow in value.

US Real Estate Services Inc. (USRES), a national provider of REO management services headquartered in Lake Forest, California, has announced the launch and immediate availability of a new service – USRES Property Management.

On Tuesday, Jacksonville, Florida-based Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) announced the formation of the LPS Real Estate Group. The new division was created as a result of the company’s acquisition and rebranding of the businesses comprising FNRES Holdings, Inc.

Irvine, California-based Homeowner Toolbox Inc. is helping homeowners wade through the complexities of the loan modification process and showing them how to avoid the roadblocks that prevent consumers from getting a modification.