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The veterans of this business can remember when REOs ran in the neighborhood of 150,000 a year, delinquency rates were just around 4 percent, and you only needed a credit score of 620 to qualify for a prime mortgage loan. But the housing finance industry, and default servicing especially, has changed. In the cover story of it's September issue, DS News looks at the many factors--from a slew of new regulatory mandates to an altered public perception of debt obligations--that have altered the business into something far from customary.

The National Association of Realtors recently released the results of a national survey conducted in July 2013 among homebuyers who had made their purchase within the previous year. The data collected brings fresh insights into all phases of the homebuying process and helps recognize emerging trends to help real estate professionals understand the needs and expectations of their clients. What did the study uncover?

In a commentary shared with DSNews.com, Peter Muoio, chief economist for Auction.com Research, revealed the company's predictions for 2014. Muoio says the housing recovery will get its second wind next year, the Federal Reserve's tapering of stimulus measures will extend for a longer period that most analysts are expecting, REO-to-rental will cool off, and the Canadian housing bubble will come closer to bursting.

As we head toward the close of 2013, many wonder what the new year will bring for economic growth, what plans the Federal Reserve has for its stimulus, and how employment and the housing market will take shape. IHS Global Insight recently released its 2014 outlook, addressing these and other factors affecting the U.S. and global economies in the coming year. IHS says global economic growth will increase from 2.5 percent this year to 3.3 percent next year, with the U.S. growing 2.6 percent, up from 1.7 percent.

Ocwen Loan Servicing must provide $2 billion in principal reductions to underwater borrowers and refund $125 million to nearly 185,000 borrowers who were foreclosed on, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) along with 49 state attorneys general announced Thursday. ""The CFPB and its partner states believe that Ocwen was engaged in significant and systemic misconduct that occurred at every stage of the mortgage servicing process,"" bureau officials said.

LoanSifter, a Wisconsin-based company specializing in technology for loan originators and secondary departments, is hosting two industry panels this week to address concerns and strategies revolving around the soon-to-be-implemented qualified mortgage (QM) rule.

The Barrett Daffin Frappier Turner & Engel family of law firms has reacquired National Default Exchange (NDeX), NDeX Title, and NDeX West from the Dolan Company. The deal puts the law firms of the BDF Law Group in direct and complete control over their entire operations. Dolan's decision to shed the NDeX assets is in line with the company's plans to move into specialized business technology for law firms and away from business processing and back office services.