Keystone Asset Management, Inc., based in Colmar, Pennsylvania, recently earned the designation of being LEED Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, which verifies environmental performance, occupant health, and financial return. Keystone's certification was earned based on its adoption of environmentally friendly practices and materials. ""We are proud to be a contributor of green standards in the business environment,"" said Jane Hennessy, Keystone's president and CEO.

With Atlanta as the exception, all of the metro areas on RealtyTrac's top 20 list for foreclosure rates in 2011 demonstrated declines in foreclosure activity from both of the previous two years. Foreclosure filings in the Atlanta area in 2011 were 2 percent higher than in 2009. Half of the metros in RealtyTrac's list of top 20 foreclosure rates for 2011 were located in California. Las Vegas had the highest foreclosure rate last year among metro areas with populations of at least 200,000.

With a common goal of economic recovery, Congress and the Federal Reserve diverge on the best means to that end. Should the housing sector finance the government's economic policies, or should the government help boost the housing sector? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke submitted a white paper to Congress last week as a framework for policymakers to help the housing market, but that move has drawn the ire of at least one senator.

Marking the fifth consecutive month of decline, home prices fell 0.8 percent in October, matching levels last seen in 2002, according to Lender Processing Services' (LPS) Home Price Index released Wednesday. As of October, the national home price average was $200,000. The year-to-date decline in October was 2.7 percent. The LPS index noted that price declines were consistent across the country. In fact, prices fell in October in 403 out of the 409 metro areas LPS tracks.

The number of mortgage modifications completed during the month of November rose 5 percent from October, bringing the year-to-date total to about 969,000, according to data released Tuesday by HOPE NOW, a voluntary private sector alliance of mortgage industry participants. While completed modifications rose over the month, 60-plus day delinquencies also increased. After reporting 2.65 million 60-plus day delinquencies in October, HOPE NOW reported 2.77 million in November.

In the third quarter of 2011, mortgage lawsuits reached their highest level since the Mortgage Litigation Index began tracking them in 2007; however, lawsuits involving servicers declined over the quarter. The index, tracked by MortgageDaily.com and prepared along with Patton Boggs LLP, observed 218 cases over the third quarter, up from 190 the previous quarter and 151 in the same quarter last year. Litigation against servicers dropped from 65 cases in the second quarter to 51 cases in the third.

Standing before the Association of American Law Schools in Washington D.C., Federal Reserve Governor Sarah Bloom Raskin discussed the importance of enforcement and monetary penalties in the mortgage servicing industry. Her message stated simply that ""laws and regulations must be enforced."" A lack of enforcement leads to the entrenchment of bad practices and an increase in the costs of correction, Raskin said, calling many of the mortgage servicing industry's practices ""shoddy.""

Freddie Mac has announced an extension of forbearance for unemployed borrowers of up to 12 months. According to Freddie Mac, almost 10 percent of delinquencies in the GSE's portfolio are linked to unemployment. Under the new directive, servicers may offer up to six months of forbearance to unemployed homeowners without prior approval, and with prior approval they may offer up to six months more, totaling a possible one year in some cases.

At a national level, the housing market is on the mend, but recovery will be slow this year with little overall change, according to the latest forecast from Veros Real Estate Solutions. The good news is that many markets are no longer expected to be radically declining, but Veros reiterates earlier predictions that this recovery will be ""a lengthy and gradual one."" Throughout 2012, the company expects the strongest markets to experience a 4 percent price increase and the weakest markets to experience 5 to 6 percent declines.

In the servicing sector, compliance was the buzz word in the fourth quarter of 2011, according Equator, a leading software provider for the default servicing industry. And compliance will continue to be top-of-mind throughout 2012, according to the company. ""The needs of our clients have focused on the demands for stricter compliance and Infrastructure Security,"" said John Vella, COO of Equator. Having released its short sale module in 2009, Equator has initiated almost 1.2 million short sales as of the fourth quarter of 2011.