Headlines

Charged by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to integrate loan disclosures stemming from the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has integrated four forms into two in order to create more streamlined and easier to understand mortgage disclosure paperwork.

According to new data offered by the CFPB, complaint volume last year totaled 163,700, an 80 percent increase from the 91,000 recorded complaints in 2012. Including this year, the bureau has received more than 310,000 complaints to date. The leap in volume underscores the challenges that still remain despite the progress made by financial industries in the last few years.

CoreLogic released its Home Price Index (HPI) for February, which found that home prices increased by 12.2 percent from the previous year. The CoreLogic figure includes home prices of distressed sales, and represents 24 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally.

A new report issued by the Warren Group found the number of foreclosure petitions dropped by 48.7 percent in Massachusetts for the month of February. The monthly drop represented 18 consecutive months that petitions have decreased on a year-over-year basis in the Bay State.

Informative Research, a mortgage information services provider, announced recently the appointment of Patrick Kelly to VP of Business Development and Colleen Knapp to Director of Business Development.

The FHFA reported mortgage rates for occupied homes was 4.30 percent for loans closed in late February, a decline of 0.07 percent. The interest rate survey also showed the average rate on a conventional, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.45 percent, a drop of 22 basis points from January.

Distressed properties have decreased to start off 2014, according to a new report from LoanLove.com. Following an anticipated marked decrease in distressed properties, the report found that U.S. foreclosure filings in February dropped to the lowest level experienced in over seven years.

In the Trulia’s latest quarterly Bubble Watch report, Jed Kolko estimates national home prices are still around 5 percent undervalued when examining long-term fundamentals like historical prices, incomes, and rents. While ongoing improvements in prices have brought the market close to a tipping point, he notes that it’s far cry from the 39 percent overvaluation in the first quarter of 2006.

Fannie Mae announced it has revised its maximum fee assessment for servicers that submit late or inaccurate loan reporting. Fannie Mae fines servicers in order to recoup the losses and damages that result from servicing breaches, "including reimbursement for Fannie Mae's internal administrative costs in tracking, reporting, and correcting these errors."

RealtyTrac announced that it has hired veteran marketing and communications executive Darcy Patch as VP of marketing and operations. Patch will oversee the daily operations of the network while further enhancing network services for current members.