Data released by Freddie Mac shows the average rate for a fixed-rate mortgage with a 30-year term has hovered at or below the 4.00 percent threshold for three consecutive weeks. The GSE's latest study, averaging rate data from 125 lenders for the week ending November 17, puts the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at exactly 4.00 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, a popular refinancing choice, averaged 3.31 percent.

Mortgage industry veteran Miriam Mendieta, Esq. has joined forces with entrepreneur Jonathan Broder to launch ForeclosureReviewServices.com. The company is based in Miami, Florida and offers assistance to servicers by providing legal professionals who review foreclosure cases to determine if the borrower may have suffered financial injury. Mendieta previously served as an attorney for a large national creditor's rights firm in Florida. Broder, also an attorney, has specialized in securities litigation.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Thursday that the national delinquency rate for residential home loans fell to 7.99 percent in the third quarter. That's the lowest reading since the fourth quarter of 2008. The delinquency rate encompasses borrowers who have missed one or more payments but are not yet in foreclosure. While delinquencies fell, the number of borrowers entering the foreclosure process rose for the first time in a year, driven by a handful of servicers and hard-hit states.

Property IQ has rolled out its flagship inventory management software nationwide, and the company says it expects the new technology to ""make an impact in the REO agent world."" The software solution is designed for use by individual agents or full REO sales offices, allowing users to take control of their inventory, whether it's 10 or 300 properties. Agents can sign up for a 30-day free trial test run through the company's website.

The Michigan Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that MERS, as record-holder of the mortgage, does have the right to initiate foreclosures in the state. The decision reverses an April ruling from the Michigan Court of Appeals, which called into question thousands of cases in which MERS was named as the foreclosing party. The appellate court's judgment sent shockwaves through the distressed housing market in Michigan. Now, with the higher court's ruling, sales of homes that had been foreclosed in the name of MERS can proceed.

Hudson & Marshall conducted an REO auction event for HUD in Las Vegas earlier this month targeting owner-occupants. The result? There are now more than 100 new owners of homes throughout both Nevada and Arizona that were previously sitting idle and vacant as part of the government's foreclosed inventory. The Las Vegas event was the culmination of a five-week aggressive marketing campaign, and was conducted in conjunction with BLB Resources.

WFG National Title Insurance Company has named Ravi Bapodra VP and managing director of its TitleNet division. TitleNet provides title, closing, and settlement services for both residential and commercial transactions, as well as loss mitigation, default, and REO transactions. It is comprised of a national network of independent providers using a centralized technology platform.

Freddie Mac has announced the launch of a nationwide winter sales promotion to move its inventory of foreclosed homes and put them back into the hands of responsible homeowners purchasing a primary residence. HomeSteps, the GSE's REO sales division, will pay selling agents a $1,000 bonus for offers received on Freddie Mac-owned homes in select locations. The offer is valid only on homes sold to owner-occupant buyers and runs through March 15, 2012. Freddie Mac held 59,596 single-family REO homes as of the end of September.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have released highly anticipated guidelines for the revised Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Among the key program revisions, the GSEs have eliminated or raised the loan-to-value cap, and relaxed representation and warranty stipulations. Both government officials and market analysts have said rep and warranty waivers could spark heated competition among lenders to refinance borrowers through HARP. With the new guidelines, the GSEs laid out exactly what will be waived.

The House Financial Services Committee voted in favor of a bill Tuesday that would prohibit Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from paying out future bonuses and suspend the 2011 compensation packages that have been approved by their regulator. The bill passed the committee by a vote of 52 to 4 and now moves to the full House for consideration. On the other side of Capitol Hill the very same day, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing in which members grilled the GSEs' regulator about executive pay.