While prices are expected to drop for the year 2012, house prices were left unchanged from December to January, according to the FHFA’s monthly House Price Index. Over a 12-month span ending in January 2012, prices fell 0.8 percent. While the drop is not dramatic, the U.S. Index shows prices are 19.2 percent below the April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the February 2004 index level. The FHFA monthly index is based on purchase prices of homes backing mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

In an effort to create a program to empower minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs), Citi and the Foundation for Small Business Development joined Karen G. Mills, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Association, to launch the Partnership for Small Business Development.

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced a $4 million settlement with a New York foreclosure law firm due to abuses in its foreclosure-related legal work. Founder of the firm Steven J. Baum, managing partner Brian Kumiega, Pillar Processing are required to pay $4 million to the state of New York. Baum and Kumiega are also barred from handling new foreclosure-related cases for two years. Before shutting most its operations on or about December 31, 2011, the firm was largest foreclosure defense firm in New York, and represented large mortgage servicers including Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, HSBC, and Citibank.

Moving along side higher yields on bonds, mortgage rates continued to climb upwards, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage above the 4 percent benchmark for the first time since October 27, 2011, according Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.08 percent for the week ending March 22. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for Freddie Mac, attributed an improving assessment of the state of the economy by the Fed, better than expected results of the bank stress tests, and the likelihood of a second bailout for Greece as reasons for higher bond yields.

Mobile Business Concepts (MBC) and Reliance Field Services (RFS) struck a technology agreement for the creation of an app to increase the efficiency of RFS contractors as they send and receive work orders. MBC is designing a company specific app called RFS Connect that will give RFS property preservation field workers the ability to take date/time stamped photos and fill out and send company specific forms through their iPhone, iPad or Android device while at the assigned property rather than waiting to send documents at the end of business day.

Weltman, Weinberg and Reis Co. brought a new associate on board to its Ft. Lauderdale office. Ana Cosculluela practices in the real estate default group with a focus on real estate title and closing services. Cosculluela's specialties include residential and commercial real estate acquisition and financing, title insurance, corporate law, and foreclosure and commercial litigation.

The number of delinquent mortgages continued declining into February based on comparisons for both the prior month and year, according to data from Lender Processing Services (LPS). The delinquency rate, which consists of loans at least 30 or more days past due but not in foreclosure, dropped 5 percent on a month-over-month basis, and 14 percent compared to the same time last year in February. Overall, 5,846,000 properties were either 30 or more days delinquent or in foreclosure in February.

NeighborWorks America announced $73.8 million in awards for foreclosure counseling efforts this week, which followed HUD's recent revelation of $42 million to support housing counselors. This latest round of funding will go to 32 state agencies, 18 HUD-approved intermediaries, and 86 community-based NeighborWorks organizations to provide counseling to those facing foreclosure. About 190,000 homeowners are expected to receive help. NeighborWorks also expects to train more than 2,000 counselors with what is now the sixth round of its program funding.

In response to the need for in-depth portfolio analysis, DataQuick announced the introduction of PortfolioQ in a company release. The hosted solution provides equity lenders with an in-depth analysis of outstanding liens against the property to accurately calculate current equity position and related risk.

A former chief financial officer of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage (TBW) pleaded guilty Tuesday to making false statements and conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud for his role in a $2.9 billion scheme that contributed to the failures of TBW and Colonial Bank. Delton de Armas of Carrollton, Texas, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on June 15, 2012. He admitted in court that from 2005 through August 2009, he and others schemed to defraud financial institutions that had invested in Ocala Funding.