New home sales rose 3.3 percent month-over-month in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, the Commerce Department and HUD reported Wednesday. On a yearly basis, new home sales rose 9.9 percent. And, the good news did not end there. This report was followed by the National Association of Realtor's existing home sales report released Tuesday, which showed the sale of existing homes rose 3.4 percent on a monthly basis and 10 percent year-over-year. In comparison to the sale of existing homes, Paul Diggle, property economist with Capital Economics, said new home sales will still continue to lag behind the existing home sales market, and one of the reasons for this is competition with discounted foreclosures and short sales.

Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) announced Monday it sold off 20.6 percent of common equity interest in Republic Financial Indemnity Group Inc. (RFIG) to a group of investors in a partial leveraged buyout (LBO).

Senators Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) are sponsoring a bill to expand protections for military members in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is also supporting the bill, known as the Servicemember Housing Protection Act (S. 3179), which has been has been referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

With low rates and low prices, homeowner affordability continues to hit record levels, reaching another high for the first quarter of 2012, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). During the previous record-breaking 2011 fourth quarter, 75.9 percent of homes sold were affordable to median-income earners. For this most recent quarter, HOI data showed 77.5 percent of all new and existing homes sold were affordable to families earning the national median income of $65,000.

The take on the state of the housing market, according to Capital Economics, is that the U.S. is currently in recovery mode. Although other reports may contend the bottom is yet to be reached, the research firm points to increasing home sales and the drop in excess supply, which leads to price gains, as reasons to believe the U.S. is beyond bottoming out. Data released on Tuesday from the National Association of Realtors backs what Capital Economics had to say. The NAR reported a rise in existing home sales in April after a two-month drop and a rise in prices. Even with positive reports on the housing market, the question of how long this will last still remains.

George B. Flessas intended to retire in the Philippines after selling his REO firm back in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Instead of settling, living in a new country inspired him to start another venture due to a need he saw for a nationwide Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the low cost to operate a business in the Philippines.

Through the $25 billion robo-signing settlement between federal and state officials and the five largest banks - Bank of America, Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally - $10 billion was set aside for principal reductions. According Fitch Ratings, the funds set aside for writing down principal will have little impact on private label residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Fitch stated that the private label result of principal reduction through the settlement will likely reach only 10 percent of underwater borrowers. Overall, Fitch estimates there is about $203 billion in negative equity for private-label RMBS.

Lender Processing Services (LPS) provided a peak into month-end data for mortgage performance in April 2012, and reported after 9 months of declines, mortgage delinquencies increased. The total delinquency rate for loans 30 days or more past due but not in foreclosure was 7.12 percent, a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase. Compared to a year ago, the delinquency rate was down by 10.6 percent.

If the buzz about bidding wars is true, Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey reported those accounts did not boost prices in its findings. Homes are selling below the list price, and if a home is subject to a bidding war, the high offer becomes quashed by lower appraisals. According to the report, homes sold in April received only two or three offers, and average home prices declined slightly from March to April.

When it comes to handling foreclosure inventory, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.) has made it clear it does not see the need for government intervention in its state. The association recently announced its support for California Congressmen Gary Miller (R-Brea) and seven California lawmakers for introducing legislation that calls for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to halt its plan to sell Fannie Mae REO properties to institutional investors through bulk sales in California.