The fast-growing population of single-family renters is more likely to dwell in their home for longer periods of time compared to multifamily occupants, which suggests demand for single-family rentals offers greater stability than the multifamily market, according to a new survey from Premier Property Management Group. In a survey of renters conducted by ORC International, 26 percent of single-family renters said they were more likely to stay in their current home five or more years compared to 22 percent of apartment dwellers. Single-family renters were also characterized as earning more income, but are more likely to have a bigger household.

CoreLogic appointed Faith Schwartz, former executive director of the HOPE NOW Alliance, to serve as SVP of government solutions. In her new role, Schwartz oversees CoreLogic business relationships and execution with federal regulatory agencies and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).

DS News took some time to chat with Daren Blomquist, VP of RealtyTrac, to get a reading on the current state of the foreclosure market and what is expected to come. Although foreclosures served to strip homes of their value during the housing crisis, Blomquist says foreclosures will be seen as a welcome sign this year and act as a stimulus. While this may seem counterintuitive, Blomquist said, ""because of the severe lack of inventory available for sale, foreclosures could actually fill that inventory and provide more fuel to the fire that's been slowly building over the past year as more sales occur.""

Home values in January posted their biggest annual increase since July 2006, beating national gains in rent, according to a recent report from Zillow. The Zillow Home Value Index rose for the 15th straight month to $158,100 in January 2013. The improvement represents a 6.2 percent year-over-year gain and a 0.7 percent increase from December 2012. The winter season, however, slowed gains for the Zillow Rent Index, which was down 0.2 percent from December, but still 4.3 percent higher compared to a year ago.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a nationwide outplacement firm, is predicting a relocation surge in 2013 from job-seeking homeowners who are finally able to list their properties. As home prices improve, more homeowners have been lifted out of negative equity, and thus more free to sell their properties and relocate. ""One factor that has kept unemployment rates high has been the inability of underwater homeowners to relocate for employment opportunities. With home prices bouncing back, even those who may now simply break even on a home sale might consider moving to a region where jobs are more plentiful,"" said John A. Challenger, the firm's CEO.

Dallas-based Hudson & Marshall is hosting an auction for investors interested in purchasing occupied bank-owned properties before they become available on the market. The five-day event will be conducted online starting March 4 and is open to cash-only buyers who can close in 14 business days.

Florida-based Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) introduced It's Listed! Alerts as a way to let servicers know when properties in their portfolios show up on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

Bank of America announced it has completed or approved nearly $30 billion in relief to more than 330,000 homeowners as of the end of 2012.

The national delinquency rate moved against the seasonal trend and declined from the third to fourth quarter, while foreclosure starts and the foreclosure inventory rate made history with their decreases, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. In the fourth quarter of 2012, the national delinquency rate fell to 7.09 percent, a quarterly and yearly drop of 31 and 49 basis points, respectively, the MBA reported Thursday. Foreclosure starts were down to the lowest level since the second quarter of 2007 after representing just 0.70 percent of loans in Q4.

Over the course of last year, nearly 2 million homeowners were released from negative equity, Zillow reported Thursday. Data from Zillow revealed 1.9 million homeowners came out of negative equity due to two main reasons: the continuation of high foreclosure rates and rising home values, which increased by 5.9 percent year-over-year, according to the Zillow Home Value Index.