Following dismal reports on employment, it might be time to give pause to assumptions that a housing recovery is here or soon to arrive. The Bureau of Labor statistics reported Friday that only 69,000 jobs were added in May, the slowest growth seen in a year. Economists said the patterns in the employment situation seen this year echo the previous year when it seemed the economy was gaining its strength back, only to falter.

Even though Radar Logic reported a monthly increase in home prices for March, the analytics company expects prices to fall and gave credit to temporary market forces for recent strengths seen in the housing market. According to Radar Logic, the RPX Composite price, which tracks home prices in 25 major metropolitan areas, showed a 1.8 percent increase on a monthly basis, but decreased by 0.87 percent year-over-year in March. With distressed homes remaining a significant portion of home sales transactions, Radar Logic dismissed the monthly increase and said significant discounts for distressed properties in relation to non-distressed means a further fall in prices.

The percentage of loans not current, which includes 30-plus delinquencies and foreclosures, declined almost 7 times more in non-judicial states compared to judicial states, according to the LPS Mortgage Monitor report for April. Year-over-year, non-judicial states saw an 8.2 percent drop in non-current loans while in judicial states, the yearly decrease was only 1.2 percent. Foreclosure starts numbered 181,584 in April, down 2.6 percent from the previous of March and a 3.1 percent drop from a year ago. On the other hand, FHA foreclosure starts saw a 73 percent increase.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is reopening a comment period regarding proposed ability-to-pay rules. The bureau reopened the comment period until July 9, 2012 to receive feedback on new data and information it received. The original comment period to the proposed rule closed on July 22, 2011.

Following lower bond yields, the 15-year fixed fell below 3 percent, while the 30-year fixed set a new record-low as well, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.75 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending May 31. The 15-year fixed slid into new territory, averaging 2.97 percent (0.7 point), down from 3.04 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed stood at 3.74 percent.

For pre-foreclosure homes, which are residential properties in default or scheduled for auction, sales were at their highest quarterly level since the first quarter of 2009, according to RealtyTrac's foreclosure sales report. Pre-foreclosure sales, which are typically sold through the short sale process, accounted for 12 percent of all sales during the first quarter. Pre-foreclosure homes sold for an average price of $175,461 in the first quarter, a 10 percent decrease from a year ago. The average pre-foreclosure sales price was the lowest in the history of RealtyTrac's foreclosure sales report, which began in the first quarter of 2005.

Through a state foreclosure prevention effort known as the Mortgage Payment Program (MPP), the State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) announced it has helped nearly 500 members receive program benefits. MPP was formed through the N.C. Foreclosure Prevention Fund and helps struggling homeowners who are falling behind on payments due to no-fault job loss or other hardships such as divorce, illness, or death of a co-signer. As part of the program, homeowners are offered zero-interest loans for a maximum of $36,000 to cover mortgage and related expenses up to 36 months.

The aggregate value of Commercial Real Estate (CRE) loans increased to 88.1 percent as of April 30, 2012 from 87.3 percent as of the end of March and from 80.9 percent as of April 30, 2011, according to DebtX. The increase in April marks the fourth straight month CRE loan values rose.

In April, the number of completed foreclosures was 66,000, down 15 percent compared to the same month a year ago when there were 78,000 completed foreclosures. Month-over-month, the number of completed foreclosures remained unchanged. The number of homes in foreclosure inventory as of April 2012 shrank slightly from 1.5 million homes a year ago to 1.4 million. Among the five states with the highest number of completed foreclosures - California, Florida, Michigan, Texas, and Georgia - only Florida is a judicial state. These states alone account for 48.8 percent of all completed foreclosures nationally.

A foreclosure prevention agency found that the pending expiration of the Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 200 is prompting struggling homeowners to strategically default on their loan. YouWalkAway.com conducted a national survey and found 34 percent of respondents indicated that the act, which is set to expire December 31, 2012, contributed to their decision to walk away sooner rather than later from their property. The Mortgage Debt Relief Act releases homeowners from the obligation of paying taxes on mortgage debt forgiven from a short sale, foreclosure or modification.