The Law Offices of Clunk, Hoose and Associates, PA announced the opening of a new full-service office in Hollywood, Florida. Firm partners John D. Clunk and Robert R. Hoose, along with attorney Shan P. Massand, will lead the new practice, which aims to bring cost-effective default management services to lenders and servicers in the South Florida market.

Safeguard Properties announced the addition of more than 200 jobs after opening a new facility in Richardson, Texas. The strategic expansion gives Safeguard a presence in the Dallas area, which the company says is a hub for the mortgage servicing industry.

After climbing for seven straight months, the improving markets index (IMI) from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and First American fell by one market from the prior month. The index identified 273 markets as improving this month, down from 274 in March. Although the index welcomed five new markets in April, six dropped off the list. ""In some markets, the main thing that's holding back a recovery is a relatively thin inventory of homes for sale, which could be resolved if builders had easier access to credit for building homes and putting people back to work,"" said Rick Judson, NAHB chairman.

To expand its strategic expertise in securitized residential mortgage finance, ARMOUR Residential Management LLC (ARRM) appointed Desmond E. Macauley to lead as the director of mortgage strategy.

Field Asset Services (FAS), a provider of pre-foreclosure, REO, and renovation field services to mortgage servicers and investors, announced the release of Flexible Mobile Survey, an add-on to the company's FAStrack Mobile platform. Flexible Mobile Survey assists field asset vendors by delivering a customized work order in the form of a survey directly to their smart phone.

Reports may tout data pointing to a housing recovery, but nearly eight in 10 Americans are unconvinced, according to the How Housing Matters survey conducted by Hart Research Associates. In the survey, 58 percent of Americans said they believe we are still in the middle of the housing crisis, while another 19 percent said the worst is yet to come, which means 77 percent hold the belief that the crisis is still here. Just one in five, or 20 percent, believe the crisis is ""pretty much over.""

Interest from first-time homebuyers is steadily growing due to concerns over rising interest rates and prices, while investor interest remains strong, according to results from the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. The survey found first-time homebuyers accounted for 34.5 percent of home purchase transactions in February, leading to the second monthly increase. Meanwhile, investor purchases reached a four-month high after accounting for 34.5 percent of transactions in February, according to the survey results.

The Mid-South Commercial Law Institute elected Donald M. Wright, shareholder at Sirote & Permutt, to serve on its board for a five-year term.

CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI) posted its largest annual increase in nearly seven years in February. When including distressed sales (short sales and REO transactions), home prices in February increased by 10.2 percent from February 2012, the data provider reported Wednesday. The annual gain marks the largest increase since March 2006. From January to February, prices still moved in a positive direction, but rose by just 0.5 percent.

AmeriBid LLC grew its operations with the opening of a second office in the Washington D.C. area. The company's new office is located in Reston, Virginia and will help the company serve the need for residential, commercial, and industrial real estate auction services throughout the region.