Headlines

Appearing before the Senate Banking Committee for his nomination hearing, Julian Castro, whose work in San Antonio includes an initiative to spark private investment for the production of thousands of additional housing units in the city in 2014 alone, opened his testimony with reassurances that his leadership would have HUD focusing on "outcomes, not only inputs."

HOPE NOW released its latest data on loan modifications, noting that in April approximately 42,000 homeowners completed a modification for their home's mortgage. All told, the organization reported that more than 7.02 million homeowners have completed home mortgage modifications since the third quarter of 2007.

Ocwen, the nation's fourth largest mortgage servicer, has agreed to pay $3.7 million to resolve allegations that it failed to give notice to homeowners, and that the company unlawfully foreclosed on properties in Massachusetts. The announcement came from the state's Attorney General Martha Coakley, who alleged the non-bank servicer failed to follow Massachusetts law when handling certain mortgage loans.

The National Association of Home Builders' (NAHB) Housing Market Index (HMI), released Monday in collaboration with Wells Fargo, registered 49 this month, up from 45 in May. A value below 50 indicates more builders view market conditions as "poor" rather than "good." Despite falling one point short of the benchmark, the moderate uptick in sentiment "is a welcome sign and shows some renewed confidence in the industry," said NAHB chairman Kevin Kelly.

The national default rate declined again from the previous month, according to data through May 2014 released by the S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian for the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices. The indices offer a comprehensive measure of changes in consumer credit defaults.

LRES announced that Ann Song has been named VP of REO asset management. In her new role, Song will be responsible for managing the company's REO portfolio of up to 2,000 assets and growing the number of REO specialists in the company's Orange County and Phoenix locations.

The housing market took an unexpected dip in May, with home sales dropping year-over-year despite a surge in new listings. A report published by Redfin's Research Center indicated that home inventory was up 9.1 percent in May. That number represents the highest number of new listings to come onto the market in the last four years.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) submitted its 2013 Report to Congress, which detailed findings from the agency's examination of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The report found that although experiencing significant exposure to credit losses from mortgage originations several years prior to the government's conservatorship, the two GSEs had record amounts of net income in 2013.

The latest Residential Price Index (RPI) report from FNC, Inc., shows home price appreciation continued in April at a monthly pace of 0.6 percent nationally, matching March's month-over-month increase. Narrowing down the list of surveyed markets, the 30-city composite index picked up 0.6 percent compared to March's 0.4 percent gain.

There's a pervasive view held by younger consumers when considering whether to purchase a home or not, according to Freddie Mac's Christina Boyle. She believes that consumers persistently overestimate the size of a down payment they need in order to finance a home, and this lack of education is harming the housing market.