Stewart Lender Services announced the appointment of Dan Gallery as group executive over its Capital Markets Group. Gallery will lead the Capital Markets team in their expansion of due diligence services for investment banks, hedge funds, institutional and private investors, as well as mortgage insurance companies.

HOPE NOW, a group focused on keeping distressed homeowners in their homes, reported they had successfully completed roughly 133,000 modifications in the first quarter of 2014. Of the reported total, approximately 41,000 permanent modifications were from the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Speaking before an audience at the Boulder Summer Conference on Consumer Financial Decision Making, CFPB director Richard Cordray spoke on the effects of student loan debt on the future of the housing market. The oft-criticized director commented on the growing $1.2 trillion of student loan debt, and how student debt will have negative ramifications on the housing market in the future.

Data through April 2014 showed a decline in the national default rate from March, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian for the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. The indices are a comprehensive measure of changes in consumer credit defaults, released monthly. The national composite default rate recorded its lowest post-recession figure of 1.11 percent in April.

Nearly a year after a tornado devastated the town of Moore, Oklahoma, foreclosure activity is slowly dwindling in the area, specifically in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. RealtyTrac found that bank repossessions spiked 58 percent in the four months following the tornado but are pulling back as the area experiences recovery.

President Obama is expected to nominate current San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro as the new secretary of housing and urban development. Castro would take the place of current director Shaun Donovan, who is to become director of the Office of Management and Budget.

A new report by the Wells Fargo Economics Group found that Texas added 64,100 new jobs in April, the largest gain in the nation. The boost in job numbers helped push unemployment down to 5.2 percent from 5.5 percent in March. Nationwide, unemployment was 6.3 percent for the month of April.

The number of REO properties increased to 430,000 as of March 2014, according to a new blog post by CoreLogic’s Sam Khater. March's figure reflects an increase of 15 percent from the low point of REO inventory in August 2013, when properties totaled 375,000.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) mandates and deadlines are still the top concern for lenders, according to QuestSoft's eighth annual compliance survey. More than 500 lenders responded to this year’s survey—62.2 percent ranked the Qualified Mortgage (QM) rule as a high concern.

Pro Teck Valuation Servicers released their April Home Value Forecast (HFV), looking specifically at two metros where there is a mix of hot and cold real estate markets. The company's April edition focuses on Phoenix, Arizona and Cleveland, Ohio.