Headlines

Citigroup is close to a deal with the Department of Justice to resolve allegations that the bank sold defective mortgage backed securities in the lead up to the financial crisis.

Tight credit restrictions are still slowing the national housing recovery, according to a report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

As home prices continue to rise—albeit slower than last year—many commentators insist that fears of a new bubble in the making are overblown. However, a new survey released Tuesday suggests lenders aren't buying it.

In a town hall style meeting in Chicago Tuesday, Mel Watt, Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, blamed fear of being taken in by a scam for eligible homeowner’s reluctance to take advantage of the Home Affordable Refinance program.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance Tuesday aimed at making it easier for surviving family members who have inherited a property due the death of a loved one to be added to the mortgage, allowing them to seek modification or refinance and avoid foreclosure.

Corelogic reported on Tuesday that 47,000 foreclosures had been completed in May, a year-over-year decrease of 9.4 percent from May of 2013. As of May, about 660,000 homes, 1.7 percent of all homes with a mortgage, in the United States were in some stage in the foreclosure process. While still large number, it represents a 37 percent decrease from May of 2013 when the foreclosure inventory topped one million homes.

Americans reported spending less money in June compared to May, marking the first monthly decline in self-reported consumer spending this year. In a survey of nearly 15,000 U.S. adults, Gallup found the daily amount spent by Americans was an average $91, down from a six-year high of $98 the month prior and about level with last year. The June record for average daily spending is $104, achieved in 2008.

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services announced late Monday that it would hold a hearing on proposed legislation aimed at reforming the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve Board published a report Monday defending and showing the progress of the Independent Foreclosure Review and subsequent Payment Agreement between the board and 15 large mortgage servicers. Between April 2011 and April 2012, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve issued enforcement actions against 16 mortgage loan servicers for inadequate foreclosure and mortgage loan servicing practices.

Consumers believe that their outlook is getting better. But they are not necessarily ready to participate in the housing market just yet. The June Housing Survey released by Fannie Mae shows that consumer sentiment toward the housing market is continuing to improve as the overall economic outlook improves but it still sits well below the level necessary for the market to normalize.