Sales of existing single-family homes in Florida rose 5 percent in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest housing statistics from the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR).

First American Title Insurance Company yesterday announced that Alan K. McCall has been elected president of the Florida Land Title Association (FLTA) for the 2008/2009 term. A 34-year veteran of the title insurance industry, McCall currently serves as VP and southeast regional underwriting counsel for First American.

As U.S. financial organizations plot their course for 2009, many are waiting to see how the federal government will handle the current financial crisis under a new presidential administration. Successful organizations will be those that are not only able to adjust to a changing regulatory landscape, but ones that can also demonstrate they are embracing the letter and the spirit of the law, according to experts at Minneapolis-based Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, a provider of compliance and operational risk management solutions to financial organizations.

The number of foreclosure deeds recorded in Massachusetts spiked in October, but lenders filed fewer petitions to foreclose – the first step in the process, according to Boston-based The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman.

Overbuilding and a high rate of foreclosures have toppled Florida’s housing market, making it one of the worst in the nation. With ample supply to choose from, savvy buyers are turning their attention to bank-owned foreclosure auctions.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced this afternoon that they are suspending all foreclosures on mortgages that the two companies own. Both companies have ordered their national networks of mortgage servicers and foreclosure attorneys to halt all foreclosure sales and evictions involving occupied single-family properties.

Mortgage financier Freddie Mac announced today that in the third quarter of 2008, 94 percent of prime borrowers who originally had a 1-year conforming adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) chose a new conforming fixed-rate mortgage when they refinanced.

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has unveiled a plan to refinance billions of dollars of at-risk mortgages using funding from the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The initiative is aimed at helping credit union members preserve their homeownership by funneling federal loans to credit unions through the Central Liquidity Facility (CLF), the lending arm of the NCUA, the administration explained in a press statement earlier this week.

Aspen Grove Inc., a provider of workflow solutions for foreclosure, bankruptcy, eviction, and REO, yesterday released its newest version of REO management software, iAgent version 3.0. Changes to the program have been designed especially to increase REO management efficiency and broaden sales results due to its more efficient process management capability, the company explained in a press statement.

The Georgia firm of O’Kelley & Sorohan, Attorneys at Law, LLC recently announced that its default division, OS Default, has expanded its default services to include boutique default solutions for regional financial institutions.