Government

Florida Gov. Rick Scott passed a bill Friday he said will help the state's housing market and in turn the state's overall economy. ""This bill expedites an existing voluntary alternative court process for defaulted home loans in uncontested cases when the borrower and the bank both seek a more speedy finality,"" Scott said. Florida H.B. 87 was introduced in January by Rep. Kathleen Passidomo (R-Naples) and passed both state legislatures in May with bipartisan support.

Can the drop in homeownership be good news? When President George W. Bush followed his predecessor Bill Clinton in pushing homeownership, one loud dissenter was British economist Andrew Oswald who argued that far from improving the economy, as Bush (and Clinton before him) said it would, homeownership hurts the economy in the long run. Oswald produced data to show that every five percent rise in homeownership results in a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate.

FDIC's failed bank tally rose to 15 as an institution in Las Vegas shut down, the agency announced.

In the Obama administration's overall assessment on housing, the market was described as showing ""important progress across many key indicators"" but the millions of underwater homeowners still call for a need to provide homeowner assistance, according to the May housing scorecard released jointly by Treasury and HUD. For example, homeowners' equity grew by more than $815 billion in the first quarter of 2013. ""Despite the positive news, we have important work ahead since there are so many families and individuals still ‘underwater' with mortgage balances higher than their home's value,"" said Kurt Usowski, HUD deputy assistant secretary for economic affairs.

The Oregon Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. can commit certain actions on behalf of a lender when granted the authority to do so. The landmark ruling also allows for non-judicial foreclosures in the state. The court released these decisions in its final rulings in Niday v GMAC Mortgage, LLC and Brandrup v Recontrust Company, N.A.

The economy added 175,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.6.percent, the first month-over-month increase since January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Economists had forecast payrolls would grow by 170,000, and that the unemployment rate would remain at 7.5 percent. The increase in the unemployment rate came from an increase in the labor force as more people looked for work. As a result, the number of persons meeting the government definition of unemployed went up.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.91 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending June 6, up 10 basis points over last week. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.67 percent. Meanwhile, Bankrate's weekly national survey had the 30-year fixed rising to 4.1 percent, its highest level since April 2012. The 15-year fixed increased to 3.28 percent, while the 5/1 ARM rose 12 basis points to 2.93 percent.

National Mortgage Settlement checks for about $1,480 will be sent starting June 10, with a completion date of June 17. According to releases from different state attorneys general offices, Rust Consulting, the settlement administrator, will mail payments associated with 962,278 loans. According to the mortgage settlement website, about $1.5 billion from the $25 billion settlement will be used to compensate eligible borrowers. In order to be considered for payment relief, borrowers had to submit a valid foreclosure claim.

Household net worth jumped by $3 trillion in the first quarter as real estate values grew $836 billion, the Federal Reserve reported Thursday in its quarterly Flow of Funds report. With a drop in mortgage debt, owners' equity in real estate increased a sharp 2.5 percentage points to its highest level since 2007. Owners' equity as a percentage of real estate value has been on a steady upward trajectory since dropping to 36.3 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell back to 346,000 for the holiday-shortened week ending June 1, dropping 11,000 after increasing 13,000 one week earlier, the Labor Department reported Thursday.