Daily Dose

As of the end of 2013, CoreLogic estimates the number of mortgaged residential properties with equity totaled about 42.7 million, representing a share of about 86.7 percent. Due to a slowdown in the quarterly growth rate of the company's Home Price Index, the share of homes with equity versus underwater homes was mostly unchanged from Q3 to Q4.

A report released this week by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and First American’s Leading Markets Index showed that the economy and housing market are functioning at a level about 87 percent of their pre-crisis normal levels. The report measures metro markets based on housing permits, home prices, and employment.

A new study released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland suggests that fast-tracking foreclosures on vacant properties could provide states with substantial savings. Researchers Kyle Fee and Thomas J. Fitzpatrick used two judicial states, Ohio and Pennsylvania, to show that savings from fast-tracking could save at least $24 million annually.

The U.S. economy added 175,000 jobs in February, beating expectations after two weak months but still failing to impress, according to a report from the Labor Department. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg anticipated a consensus forecast of 150,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate edged up to 6.7 percent from January’s five-year low of 6.6 percent.

“Mortgage rates were down this week as real GDP was revised downwards to 2.4 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2013,” said Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Fixed residential investment negatively contributed to GDP decreasing 8.7 percent in the fourth quarter.”

Benjamin Lawsky, the superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS), issued a letter to Nationstar Mortgage Holdings, acknowledging the agency "has significant concerns that the explosive growth at Nationstar and other nonbank mortgage servicers may create capacity issues that put homeowners at risk."

While many price indicators have pointed to slowdowns over the last few months, the latest trend could be the start of something worse, says Dr. Alex Villacorta, VP of research and analytics at Clear Capital. The company’s Home Data Index (HDI) Market Report, recorded only a 1 percent gain in home prices over the quarter ending last month.

In a joint release on Wednesday, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued final guidance describing supervisory expectations for stress tests. The tests will be conducted by medium-sized financial companies, "with total consolidated assets between $10 billion and $50 billion," according to the release.

The Wells Fargo Economics Group released its California Economic Outlook for February, 2014. The report noted that while recovery has been slow in the past, "[T]he state has methodically made progress working through a number of major impediments, most notably the overhang of foreclosures and distressed homes left over from the housing bust."

The Beige Book released Wednesday revealed economic conditions are expected to expand at a "modest to moderate" rate in most areas of the country. Released by the Federal Reserve, the report summarized economic conditions across its 12 districts from January through February.