USFN recognized several of its own at its annual Member Education Retreat & Annual Meeting, bestowing honors upon four USFN members and one member company. USFN president Marcy Ford presented the awards to each individual during the organization’s awards ceremony.
Read More »High-End Home Sales Rise in California
The number of homes sold for more than $1 million in California increased 45.1 percent in 2013 against 2012, according to real estate information service DataQuick. Last year, 39,175 homes sold over the million dollar mark versus 2012's 26,993 homes. Of those homes, 10,602 were bought with cash. Those homes that were financed in this price bracket had a median down payment of 30 percent.
Read More »Long Island Ranked Nation’s Hottest Market, Florida Metros Struggle
Pro Teck Valuation Services released on Tuesday January's Home Value Forecast (HVF), a measure of single family residential markets. The company ranked Long Island as the strongest market in the nation, citing its small share of foreclosures as total sales and its comparatively low housing inventory.
Read More »Foreclosure Rate Down to 2.5% at Year-End
According to year-end data from Black Knight Financial Services, 6.47 percent of the nation’s mortgages last year were delinquent, down from a peak of 10.57 percent in January 2010. Meanwhile, about 2.48 percent of loans were in some state of foreclosure—a rate about 4.6 times the pre-crisis average.
Read More »Fannie Mae’s Book Shrinks as New Business Falls
Fannie Mae’s book of business shrank in December, ending a short streak of growth and marking the eighth month of 2013 in which business slowed.
Read More »Vectra FS, Valuation Vision Introduce RepairSmart BPO
Vectra Field Services, a provider of pre-foreclosure and REO mortgage field services, and Valuation Vision, a company specializing in alternative valuation products and technology solutions, together announced the launch of RepairSmart BPO, a new property valuation report.
Read More »CFPB Report Highlights Shoddy Servicing Practices in 2013
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a new report detailing a number of servicing practices that “continued to plague consumers throughout 2013.” The report covers supervision work completed between July and October 2013—after its servicing rules were first published but before they actually went into effect.
Read More »Gerner & Kearns Welcomes Two to Litigation Team
Gerner & Kearns Co., L.P.A. (G&K), announced the addition of two new attorneys to its Litigation Department: Elizabeth A. McCord and Kyle M. Winslow.
Read More »RE/MAX Leadership Honored as Real Estate’s ‘Most Influential’
The co-founder/chairman and the CEO of RE/MAX were named among the most influential real estate industry executives of 2013 on two prestigious lists released last week. Dave Liniger, who founded the Denver-based real estate franchise in 1973, and Margaret Kelly, who became the company's president and CEO in 2005, were named to the Inman 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders and the Swanepoel Power 200.
Read More »Wells Fargo to Sell $39B MSR Portfolio to Ocwen
Ocwen's servicing segment is set to acquire mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) on a $39 billion portfolio from Wells Fargo, the two companies announced Wednesday. The loans underlying the MSRs in the portfolio are primarily in private label securities, the companies said, and they were not originated by Wells Fargo. They represent about 2 percent of Wells Fargo's total residential servicing portfolio as of the end of 2013.
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