NXTLoan | First American Mortgage Trust, a lender specializing in FHA 203(k) loans, hired Rob Philion as director of sales and national sales manager.

Freddie Mac is requiring servicers to offer a new modification to help borrowers in eligible disaster areas starting November 1, 2013. Dubbed the Capitalization and Extension Modification for Disaster Relief, the new option provides relief to borrowers by adding payments to the end of the loans to bring the account current. Fannie Mae also announced similar disaster relief policies in a recent servicing guide last week.

Over the past four years since the recession ended, GDP has grown only 9 percent, Freddie Mac revealed in a recent analysis. At the current rate, the ""U.S. has experienced the weakest economic recovery coming out of a recession in the Post-War era,"" said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac VP and chief economist. Despite the ""frustratingly slow"" growth rate, the GSE expects the housing sector to aid the sluggish economic recovery in three ways.

With the home price recovery moving along faster than income growth, many workers across the country are finding hard work is not enough to pay the bills, according to the 2013 Paycheck to Paycheck report from the Center for Housing Policy (CHP). After exploring housing affordability for mid-career professionals in travel and tourism, the report found only flight attendants could afford rent for a two-bedroom unit at fair market value in the 207 metros examined. On the other hand, housekeepers and wait staff could not afford a two-bedroom unit in any of the 207 metros.

The Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS (RRAR) selected Tessa Hultz, RCE, CAE, as the new EVP and CEO of the group in North Carolina. She was also appointed president of the Triangle Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (TMLS).

Micoley.com will host an online auction featuring over 100 properties throughout Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Although the bidding will take place August 24 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. CDT, interested buyers can register now and bid prior to the auction's start time.

Mortgage debt decreased with overall household debt in the second quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Wednesday. Mortgage balances stood at $7.84 trillion in the second quarter, down by $91 billion from the first quarter. The New York Fed report explained the decrease was partly ""due to reporting gaps associated with the servicing transfer of a higher-than-usual number of loans."" Overall consumer debt continued to fall, ending at $11.15 trillion in the second quarter, down by $78 billion, or 0.7 percent, compared to the first quarter.

Although the pace of loan modification activity slowed from the first to the second quarter this year, foreclosure starts saw an even greater quarterly decline, according to data from HOPE NOW. In the second quarter, servicers provided 204,000 loan modifications to distressed borrowers, down by about 16 percent from the prior quarter. However, loan modifications were still up 13 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, foreclosures starts were down 30 percent compared to the first quarter and down 38 percent from last year.

During a Bipartisan Policy Center forum Tuesday, experts generally agreed the housing market is on the path to recovery, but the strength of the national recovery remained in question. According to Douglas G. Duncan, chief economist at Fannie Mae, we may be in a recovery, but it has been the ""weakest recovery since World War II"" when considering income growth. Richard Smith, CEO and president of Realogy, took a more optimistic approach and stated we are in the early stages of a ""fairly strong recovery,"" with prices reacting to inadequate supply.

Mortgan County in Colorado partnered with Corporation Service Company (CSC) to expand its electronic document recording services.