The closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller index showed its strongest positive movement since last summer with the release of Tuesday's report. The analysts at Standard & Poor's described the news as a ""welcome shift from recent months."" While it may fuel cautious optimism that at least a short-range upward trend is already in the making, industry experts and market analysts put the latest numbers into context and share their views on what to expect in the months ahead.

Freddie Mac has entered into a proposed settlement with the now defunct Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (TBW). Under the terms of the agreement, Freddie Mac will be granted an unsecured claim in the TBW bankruptcy estate for just over $1 billion. The GSE estimates it will only see between $40 million and $45 million from that claim. While the settlement entitles Freddie to additional funds related to its mortgage loans, it also requires the GSE to pay TBW and its trade creditors to settle their potential claims against the GSE.

A total of 25,485 suspicious activity reports (SARs) involving mortgage fraud were submitted to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the first quarter, up 31 percent from a year earlier. The agency attributes the increase to more demands from investors for lenders to repurchase poorly performing mortgages, which have prompted additional loan reviews. Officials also found a number of incidents involving foreclosure rescue scams, false claims of identity theft, and property flopping.

One month after reporting its home price gauge had officially double dipped, Standard & Poor's says prices have inched up, in line with the expected seasonal boost that accompanies the spring buying season. The 20-city composite reading of the S&P/Case-Shiller index posted a 0.7 percent increase in April versus March. It's the first monthly gain in eight months, but the index remains 4.0 percent below April 2010. Looking at the monthly movement, even in the midst of the spring season, it wasn't all up and up. Six of the 20 metros showed new index lows in April.

Florida's Second District Court of Appeal has denied a petition brought by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alleging that the state's special ""mass foreclosure docket"" established to help clear Florida's case backlog doesn't allow homeowners an opportunity to defend their homes against foreclosure. The case before the appellate court was viewed as a pivotal one by the advocacy group, although state legislators did not renew funding for these special courts for the 2011-2012 fiscal year, which begins in July.

Tight credit conditions for first-time buyers and a foreclosure pipeline full of homes bought with subprime loans mean that house prices at the low end of the market will continue to fall at a faster rate than prices at the middle and high end, according to Capital Economics. The bulk of these low-end homes consists of distressed properties, which already carry steep discounts as lenders and investors try to capture a piece of the limited demand out there to get these homes off their books and back into the hands of responsible homeowners.

Bendett & McHugh, P.C. recently announced that it has promoted Renee Bishop to the position of attorney manager and department head of the firm's real estate, REO, and eviction departments. Bishop has performed management responsibilities in these areas at the firm for a number of years now. She has been with Bendett & McHugh for nine years and has almost 15 years of real estate and eviction experience.

State and federal regulators shut down Mountain Heritage Bank in Clayton, Georgia, late Friday. It's the 14th FDIC-insured financial institution in the state to be closed this year. So far in 2011, 48 insured banks have been shuttered. At this time last year, the tally stood at 86. Mountain Heritage, which was founded in 2003, fell victim to the real estate downturn, with heavy losses on construction loans and mortgages for second homes.

Housing counseling increases the likelihood that a homeowner will be granted a loan modification by 200 percent, according to a research study from the Federal Reserve. The central bank also found that counseled borrowers received more favorable terms on their loan modifications compared to borrowers who go it alone. The Homeownership Preservation Foundation says these, among other findings, show that mortgage counseling works, but the availability of these services are in jeopardy due to federal budget cuts.

The nation's second largest mortgage company has again reported a decline in the percentage of loans it holds that are 90 or more days past due and in foreclosure. Freddie Mac says its serious delinquency rate for single-family mortgages dropped to 3.53 percent in May. That's down four basis points from 3.57 percent the month before and down 53 basis points from 4.06 percent in May 2010. May's rate was the lowest it's been since September of 2009.