NeighborWorks America, a congressionally chartered nonprofit corporation, announced Monday the launch of the NeighborWorks Alliance of Texas, an agreement between 13 regional housing organizations dedicated to expanding and preserving housing opportunities for Texans.

Before moving toward home renovations to increase value, Independent We Stand, a national small business organization, has another suggestion: Support local, independently-owned businesses in the neighborhood.

Despite reporting 43,000 proprietary loans in April, 8 percent lower than the previous month, Hope Now continues to reach out and stay in contact with at-risk borrowers. Foreclosure sales also declined in April to approximately 60,000 completed compared from 66,000 in March. Delinquencies of 60 days or more remained relatively flat for the month at 2.52 million. Delinquency data is extrapolated from data received by the Mortgage Bankers Association for the first quarter of 2012.

Despite the economic downturn, a study conducted by Coldwell Banker and psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig found that even though people's feelings about homeownership have changed, owning a home is still very much a goal for many Americans. One of the findings stated while 79 percent of U.S. adults indicated the recession has caused society to rethink the concept of homeownership, 91 percent agreed owning a home is part of the American Dream. Another issue being re-evaluated is what homeowners want versus what they really need. According to the survey, 90 percent of U.S. adults agree some people purchased more expensive homes than they should have before the recession.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers, announced Wednesday two hires as part of a strategic initiative to strengthen the firm's Capital Markets research platform.

Lenders and services now have a new tool to help track HOAs. Sperlonga Data and Analytics announced Wednesday the creation of ""the industry's only broad database of the nations HOAs"" to help lenders and services meet the July 1st Fannie Mae requirement.

Sun Trust Banks, Inc., announced Wednesday the appointment of David Stevens, current President and CEO of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), to president of SunTrust Mortgage.

In order to better reflect its offerings, Homeward Residential, Inc., a full-service mortgage banking organization, announced Tuesday the official launch of its new brand name and identity in support of its business diversification strategy. Formerly known as American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc.

With foreclosure petitions in Massachusetts the highest in nearly two years, foreclosure activity for the Bay State remained at levels drastically higher than recorded in 2011, according to a report released Tuesday by The Warren Group, a Boston-based real estate data provider.

Move, Inc., operator of online real estate Web site Real.com, and RealBizMedia, a media content provider for the real estate industry, announced a partnership to launch the Realtor.com TV Channel which will provide millions of home listings to approximately 55 million U.S homes. Launching the second half of 2012, the channel will begin airing on the Cox cable network as Video on Demand (VOD). By doing so, Realtor.com will reach potential homeowners on three platforms: computer, mobile, and television.