Daily Dose

A group of state bank regulators is forming a task force to develop new mortgage servicing standards for non-bank firms, according to an announcement released Wednesday.

The number of U.S. homeowners who were seriously underwater in the third quarter declined 11 percent from the previous quarter, hitting its lowest level in more than two years, according to RealtyTrac's Q3 2014 Home Equity & Underwater Report released Thursday.

The steep decline in the number of marriages in the U.S. among the population aged 25 to 29 has been a key factor in the slow recovery of the housing market, according to a report from John Burns Real Estate Consulting (JBREC).

The rate of consumer credit default in the U.S. inched slightly upward in September, and the mortgage default rate also marginally increased, according to the September 2014 S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices released earlier this week.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized minor changes to its mortgage rules designed to ensure expanded credit access, which has been a hot topic in recent weeks.

Declines in mortgage interest rates helped spur a pickup in refinances in August, even as interest in the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) continues to wane.

The sales of REO properties, or those repossessed by lenders, accounted for more than half of all-cash sales in the U.S. in July, according to transaction data recently released by CoreLogic.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro announced in a speech on Monday the points of HUD's "Blueprint for Access" meant to ease the risk of lenders while expanding credit.

A Wisconsin man once known as the "king of foreclosures" and his adult son were arrested at their home Monday and charged with bank fraud and bankruptcy fraud.

Foreclosure activity plummeted in New Mexico both in the third quarter and in September, according to RealtyTrac's Q3 2014 Foreclosure Report recently released.