Current homeowners are playing a bigger role as housing market participants amid a sharp slowdown in investor activity, according to data from the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Last month, current homeowners represented 44.6 percent of the purchase market, up from 43.8 percent in May based on a three-month moving average. As rising home prices discourage investors, HousePulse found home purchases from investors slipped to 19.7 percent.

The rate of performing borrowers who rolled into delinquency status decreased in the second quarter, Fitch Ratings reported Monday. New delinquency roll rates showed stronger performance across all categories (subprime, Alta-A, and prime), with non-agency roll rates hitting their lowest level since early 2007. Overall, Fitch's delinquency roll rate index fell to 2 percent in the second quarter of this year, down from 2.4 percent in the previous quarter and down from 2.2 percent a year ago.

A large percentage of appraisers are confident their future is bound to look brighter, according to a recent survey from the Appraisal Institute. Among the residential appraisers surveyed, 80 percent said their business outlook is either ""somewhat"" or ""very"" positive for the next one or two years, while 78 percent of commercial appraisers said the same. Additionally, 86 percent of residential appraisers and 55 percent of commercial appraisers said demand for their services is strong.

CoreLogic, a provider of property information, analytics and services, announced the acquisition of Bank of America's flood zone determination and tax processing services assets and operating platforms. The Irvine, California-based company also announced it has entered into a services agreement to continue to provide the related services to Bank of America.

Distressed property sales have declined drastically in California over the last year, according to a recent report from PropertyRadar. In June, sales for distressed homes and condominiums plunged 46.5 percent year-over-year in June. On the other hand, non-distressed property sales shot up by 31.3 percent during the same time period. Government intervention is the main driving force behind the declines in distressed property sales, according to the report authored by Madeline Schnapp, director of economics research at the firm.

ELK Software, a provider of real estate software, announced the release of the latest version of Realty Commander, a tool to help Realtors and brokers manage real estate transactions.

The credit quality for potential renters has improved over the last year, according to CoreLogic's Renter Applicant Risk (RAR) index report. In the first quarter of this year, the index increased to 104 compared to 102 a year ago and 99 in 2011. ""It's encouraging to see better qualified applicants who are more likely to meet their lease obligations,"" said Jay Harris, senior director of CoreLogic SafeRent.

YouWalkAWay.com, a national foreclosure agency, recently released a June 2013 survey of its customers and found 54 percent are in pre-foreclosure, meaning they have defaulted on their mortgage but have not received an official foreclosure notice. The share is down from 2012, when 85 percent of YouWalkAWay clients reported they were in pre-foreclosure. The share is down from 2012, when 85 percent of YouWalkAWay clients reported they were in pre-foreclosure.

Davidson Fink LLP added a new associate attorney to its firm. Kurt Odenbach joins Davidson Fink as the latest member of its default servicing department.

For several markets across the country, strong home price growth is also attached to a double-digit unemployment rate, leading Fitch Ratings to view the strong price appreciation as unsustainable. In a recent report, Fitch highlighted seven metro areas where high unemployment rates were in the backdrop of annual double-digit home price gains. The top two were Detroit and Las Vegas, while the remaining five were in California: Sacramento, Stockton, Los Angeles, Bakersfield, and Riverside.