Daily Dose

Despite economic growth taking a step backward, the forecast for housing for the rest of the year remains positive, according to Fannie Mae SVP and chief economist Doug Duncan. New home sales increased by 6.8 percent in April up to 517,000 annualized units; the National Association of Realtors' Pending Home Sales Index has risen by 14 percent in the last 12 months; existing home sales are at a nine-year high; and purchase applications recovered at the end of May from a slow first half of the month up near a two-year high.

Since their 1.81 percent high in 2009, HELOC delinquencies are down to prerecession levels, the study shows. The percentage of HELOCs that are in late-stage delinquency, 90–180 days past due, are down to 0.5 percent which is a positive sign for the industry.

According to the CFPB, the Hoffman Law group was set up to give the appearance that it would give specialized legal help to distressed homeowners who were either seeking mortgage loan modifications or trying to avoid foreclosure.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) have reached a settlement resolving allegations of discriminatory lending based on race on the part of California-based Provident Funding Associates, according to a joint announcement from the two government agencies.

In an announcement regarding the letter to Castro, Waters said that many senior citizens have faced foreclosure or will face foreclosure due to "fraudulent lending practices" on the part of lenders surrounding HUD's previous protocol for the HECM program.

Yun expects a rebound heading into the summer, following April’s decline in existing-home sales, but the chance of significant gains will depend on an increase in inventory and evidence of moderating price growth now that interest rates have started to rise.

A bill to expedite the lengthy foreclosure process and eliminate blight in Ohio neighborhoods that has national implications has been re-introduced and has passed by a unanimous vote in the Ohio House of Representatives.

JPMorgan Chase, the nation's largest bank, acquired Bear Stearns in March 2008 at a stock-only price of $236 million, or $2 per share. In their lawsuit, the pension funds accused Bear Stearns of selling $17.6 billion worth of toxic mortgage-backed securities to them in the run-up to the crisis. The terms of the settlement were approved by Judge Laura Taylor Swain in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (in Manhattan).

Holtz-Eakin, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, wrote on the American Action Forum's blog, "The Daily Dish," earlier this week that logic would dictate large reforms to the housing finance system following the crash, yet no such large reform has taken place.

Meanwhile, the serious delinquency rate on Freddie Mac-backed single-family mortgage loans, dropped by seven basis points down to 1.66 percent, its lowest level since reporting 1.52 percent in November 2008 just as the crisis was beginning.