As delinquencies and impending foreclosures rose, New England states responded with foreclosure prevention programs, generally falling into one of two categories: foreclosure mediation and financial assistance. The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston examined these efforts to determine ways other states can learn from them. Five of the six New England states have their own mediation programs, and Massachusetts created a program allowing negotiation without a mediator.

Nevada has held the number one spot in state foreclosure rankings for 56 consecutive months. In fact, for the month of August, RealtyTrac reports one in every 118 Nevada homes received a foreclosure filing. While foreclosures cannot always be prevented, the state is taking steps to protect homeowners facing foreclosure. A new ""Foreclosure Fraud Reform"" law will go into effect October 1. It lays out new rules for the recording of foreclosure documents and mandates the foreclosing party prove chain of title.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index for August was 88.6, which is on par with last year's pending home sales average for the year, according to NAR's chief economist, Lawrence Yun. Yun says the index has been moving within a narrow range for the past several months. On a monthly basis, pending home sales fell 1.2 percent in August, although existing home sales in August rose 7.7 percent on a monthly basis and 18.6 percent year-over-year.

The amount of suspicious activity reports related to mortgage fraud filed in the second quarter of this year is 88 percent greater than the amount filed in the second quarter of 2010. Financial institutions sent in nearly 30,000 reports of suspected mortgage fraud over the April-to-June period this year, according to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. More than three-fourths involved suspicious activity that occurred before 2008, but officials say they're seeing evidence of ongoing fraud.

Servicers completed about 56,000 proprietary permanent loan modifications in the month of August - similar to their July efforts. Most of these modifications included reduced principal and interest payments and fixed interest rates for five years or more, according to HOPE NOW data released Wednesday. While proprietary loan modifications remained level, foreclosure starts increased 18 percent, rising from 185,000 in July to 218,000 in August.

With the deadline for the Emergency Homeowners' Loan Program (EHLP) just a couple days away, HUD says it does not expect to meet the program's original goal of helping 30,000 homeowners, even after two deadline extensions. According to a HUD spokesperson, the main obstacle stems from the ""statutory requirements of the program and the statutory time limits."" The agency says approximately 75 percent of the applicants rejected did not meet the criteria of the program.

Even while interest rates continue to post record and near-record lows and affordability is relatively high, many consumers choose to rent rather than purchase homes. According to Freddie Mac's chief economist Frank Nothaft, financial worries among consumers are likely holding back home sales, which remain lackluster despite the most affordable home-buying market in decades. Nothaft says a boost in job and income growth would help instill confidence in consumers and in turn, stimulate the housing market.

It will be a long road ahead for the 14 servicers who received consent orders from federal regulators earlier this year. Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh says the servicers will spend the next year or more recompensing for past foreclosure errors. Servicers must hire independent consultants to audit cases from 2009 and 2010, set up dedicated websites and toll-free numbers, and launch massive mailing and advertising campaigns to reach borrowers who may have been affected.

Mortgage litigations in the second quarter of 2011 have more than doubled since last year, according to an industry report released Monday. During the April-to-June period, mortgage litigations reached 190 cases, up from 75 over the same quarter in 2010 and 151 during the first quarter of this year. Foreclosure-related litigation rose from 29 cases in the second quarter of 2010 to 67 cases a year later. The study also recorded a significant jump in cases involving secondary market transactions.

Florida has one of the longest foreclosure timelines in the country, and some state lawmakers hope to shorten that timeline by removing the courts from the process. Florida is one of more than 20 judicial states -- states that require foreclosures to funnel through the courts before becoming official. Governor Rick Scott says he is interested in learning more about the prospect of moving to a non-judicial process, but not all state officials are open to the idea.