Following the release of the first quarter 2012 Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, economists from IHS Global Insight and Capital Economics offered their take on whether the data indicates the market is stabilizing or still searching for a bottom. Patrick Newport and Michelle Valverde, U.S. Economists for IHS Global Insight, said it depends on where you are since prices are driven by local forces such as foreclosure rates and job growth.

With the hope that whistleblowers will sound their horn, the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Working Group launched website for insiders to report fraud, the Justice Department announced in a statement. The RMBS Working Group was created in late January 2012 to investigate abuses and fraud in the RMBS market that only exacerbated the financial crises. While still a fairly new group, the unit has been criticized for its slow progress.

Competition can lead to low prices, but sometimes when prices get too low, someone ends up paying. This is an issue the appraisal industry is facing, where appraisal management companies (AMCs) compete for clients by lowering the cost of appraisals, leading to less compensation for the appraisers. In a white paper, Jeff Schurman, executive director of Leading Causes and Rick Grant, president and CEO of RGA Public Relations, listed and explained 20 benefits for AMCs if they pay appraisers full fees.

Bank of America and Barclays Bank PLC agreed to sell their remaining 26.5 percent interest in Archstone to Equity Residential and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., BofA announced Friday in a statement.The purchase price for the remaining interest in Archstone, a privately-held owner, operator and developer of multifamily apartment properties, is $1.58 billion.

In its May foreclosure newsletter, RealtyTrac named the top 10 places to buy foreclosures in 2012. The selected locations were out of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas based on population. The list was further narrowed down according markets with at least 200 foreclosure-related sales transactions in January 2012. Then, it was whittled down again to only include metros with foreclosure sales prices at least 30 percent below the average price of a non-foreclosure property.

FDIC-insured banks and savings institutions reported a total profit of $35.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, a $6.6 billion increase from the $28.8 billion net income reported in the 2011 first quarter. The increase marks the 11th consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains. The number of ""problem"" institutions dropped to the smallest number since year-end 2009. ""Problem"" institutions declined from 813 to 772, with total assets of ""problem"" institutions shrinking from $319 billion to $292 billion.

While seeming to recover, the housing market is still undoubtedly fragile, and there are millions of underwater borrowers who continue to struggle with making payments. While HARP proposes to address these concerns, the program has been limited in its ability to reach the masses. Through the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act of 2012 introduced by Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Barbara Boxer (D-California), a new HARP 3.0 would break down barriers preventing millions more from refinancing. During a hearing on Thursday before a senate subcommittee, industry experts and leaders offered testimony on how the proposed legislation could impact the economy.

Fixed rate mortgages were little changed this week after falling and breaking record lows, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.78 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending May 24, down slightly from last week when it averaged 3.79 percent. The 15-year rate was unchanged from last week's average at 3.04 percent (0.7 point). Bankrate.com reported little movement as well in its weekly survey.

About 15.7 million U.S. homeowners were underwater in the first quarter of 2012, according Zillow's Negative Equity Report released Thursday. Yet, most underwater homeowners are current on their mortgages, with nine in 10 continuing to make their payments on time. Also, just 10.1 percent of underwater homeowners are more than 90 days delinquent, Zillow reported.

Home prices for GSE-backed mortgages rose 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous 2011 fourth quarter, according to FHFA's purchase-only home price index (HPI). Prices also showed a 0.5 percent increase from the year ago first quarter, and month-over-month, prices increased 1.8 percent in March. The purchase only HPI uses home sales price information from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans and includes more than 6 million repeat sales transactions.