The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending August 15, 2008 today. The new stats show mortgage applications declined only slightly from last week, but have now hit their lowest level since December 2000.

According to a report released by MDA DataQuick today, 44.8 percent of properties sold in California during July were REOs, up from 42.5 percent in June. Only 7.6 percent of California home sales were comprised of REO properties in July of 2007.

LenderLive Network, Inc., a business process outsourcing and technology provider for the financial industry, has launched a portfolio analysis tool that automates early workout determination. In a press statement announcing the new technology, LenderLive explained that it leverages the company’s proprietary product eligibility engine to improve the efficiency of determining the alternative loan product or loan modification that is most appropriate for borrowers whose mortgages are at risk.

First American Default Technologies, a member of The First American Corporation family of companies and a provider of host-system integration technology to the mortgage default servicing industry, launched a new loss mitigation module as part of its VendorScape suite of solutions today.

Although the federal government has taken steps to alleviate the housing contraction on a national scale, individual states, like California and most recently New York, are passing their own legislation to combat rising foreclosure numbers and sallow regional housing markets.

ServiceLink, a provider of origination and default services and the national mortgage services platform of Fidelity National Financial, announced enhancements to its title and settlement solution for reverse mortgage transactions today.

Barron’s, a weekly investor publication that provides market, industry, and company analyses to the financial community, released a report yesterday saying that the Treasury’s recapitalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is inevitable.

The Securities and Exchange Commission let its emergency order to protect shares of 19 financial companies from aggressive short-selling expire last week with no announcement of an extension. The SEC says it will not continue the rule barring such trades until new proposals against abusive short-selling across all U.

CSC, a provider of technology-enabled solutions to the mortgage industry, introduced a new tool to expedite assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure last week. The Web-based service is called Borrower Inquiry and allows distressed homeowners to track the status of their requests for help from mortgage servicers.

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has announced agreements with JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wachovia regarding allegations that the organizations made misrepresentations in their marketing and sales of auction-rate securities.