Freddie Mac has selected Clear Capital to power its collateral review of appraisals submitted through the Uniform Collateral Data Portal (UCDP). Clear Capital will provide the government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) with in-depth feedback regarding the quality and accuracy of appraisals.

Through a partnership between the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation (TSAHC) and the Texas Association of Realtors (TAR), the joint campaign "Get Ready: Making Texans Homeowners for Life" will work to increase awareness of educational programs among potential home buyers.

McCalla Raymer, a full service provider of residential and commercial real estate legal services, was honored by the Downtown Orlando Partnership at its annual ceremony. The company was the recipient of the Golden Brick Award, given out annually to projects that affect the downtown development district.

A former bank executive for a Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bank has been indicted in a bank fraud conspiracy. The announcement came from the Office of the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP), which commented that Gary Alan Rickenbach of Little Rock, Arkansas has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) latest Housing Scorecard for March, released in conjunction with the U.S. Treasury, showed progress in the housing market, but cautioned that the national economy is still healing from the Great Recession. In particular, the report commented that foreclosure starts continued to decrease while January home prices remained stable.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System released findings from its Senior Credit Officer Opinion Survey for March, 2014. The report found that credit officers are experiencing an increased demand for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).

Caliber Home Loans announced that Karen Bausman has joined the company as Managing Sales Director of Correspondent Lending for the company’s Eastern Region. Bausman joins Caliber’s existing sales team of 10 sales directors who service customers nationwide.

Homevestors of America expects home prices to surge in the coming months, recovering from the winter storms that plagued large swaths of the country, limiting home prices and home sales. Three Texas cities led the list—Homevestors noted Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin as prime metros for home price growth.

North Carolina's economy appears to back on the move, according to a recently released study performed by the Wells Fargo Economics Group. Labor market conditions are improving, with job growth outpacing the nation and home sales finally recovering from a period of dormancy.

The recent technological attack on Ellie Mae could have been carried out by individuals with mortgage industry experience, the vendor says. The attacks occurred over a two-day span from March 31 to April 1, overwhelming the company’s servers with data requests that appeared to be legitimate communications.