Daily Dose

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that Brotman Enterprise, LLC will pay $25,000 as part of an agreement resolving allegations of discrimination. The Philadelphia-area real estate company settled with HUD as part of a Conciliation Agreement.

In its latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report, S&P Dow Jones Indices recorded an annual price increase of 10.8 percent among both the 10- and 20-city composites. Those figures compare to year-over-year increases of 12.6 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively. A consensus of economists surveyed by Econoday called for a gain of 11.4 percent in the 20-city index.

Existing-home sales rose in May at their highest monthly growth rate in years as inventory continued to expand, the National Association of Realtors(NAR) reported. According to NAR, total existing-home sales—representing completed transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops—jumped 4.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million.

Florida's housing market had more new listings, an increase in median prices, and an uptick in inventory in May, according to Florida Realtors. Completed sales of single-family homes totaled 23,013 across the state, an increase of 3.6 percent over the May 2013 figure.

Black Knight Financial Services released its "First Look" at May Mortgage data, which found that foreclosure inventory declined to its lowest level since July 2008. As a percentage of total inventory, foreclosure pre-sale inventory is 1.91 percent, down 5.56 percent month-over month.

In its May 2014 Residential & Foreclosure Sales Report, RealtyTrac reported that U.S. properties sold at an estimated annual pace of 5.1 million in May. The pace of sold homes remained virtually unchanged from April, with a small increase of less than 1 percent from May 2013.

The list of 2014 bank collapses grew into the double digits over the weekend as River Valley Bancorp was forced to close two of its subsidiary operations. In separate releases issued Friday, FDIC announced the shuttering of Valley Bank branches in Moline, Illinois, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, bringing the 2014 bank failure tally to 11 so far.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released its latest Refinance Report, examining data as of the end of April 2014. The FHFA found that overall refinance volume rose slightly in April, but remained at levels more comparable to those seen in 2008.

Home flippers reported more gains in 2013 than in any year on record, according to national real estate brokerage Redfin. The average home flipped last year was sold for $90,200 more than it was purchased, and in 11 of the 30 markets Redfin analyzed, flippers received gains of more than $100,000 per house.

Home purchases made with cash are on the decline across the country, according to Zillow, but cash sales still make up a significant portion of the lower-priced home market in many areas. Cash sales declined year-over-year in the first quarter in 102 of the 126 metro areas Zillow observes. Zillow chalked up the decline to waning investor demand and a resurgence of traditional buyers in the market.