Magazine

A release issued by the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORS (MAAR) gave an in-depth look at how the nationwide cold weather this past January and February affected local, cold weather markets. Freezing weather hurt new listings, which declined 5.0 percent. Despite the drop in listings, MAAR is more bullish for the spring and summer months, expecting overall seller activity to increase.

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and four of its member organizations announced new evidence of housing discrimination by U.S. Bank, N.A. The civil rights groups allege that U.S. Bank maintains and markets foreclosed homes in white neighborhoods, in "a much better manner than in African-American and Latino neighborhoods," according to a press release issued by the NFHA.

Bank of America filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), alerting the TWC of impending layoffs in three of the bank's North Texas offices. The notice was sent on March 3, detailing layoffs of 114 workers from two offices in Plano, Texas and one in Richardson, Texas.

A report issued by the Wells Fargo Economics Group noted that California lost 31,600 jobs in January—the largest single-month decline in over four years. Non-farm payrolls declined .2 percent during the month of January. The decline from December, 2013 to January, 2014 was the largest one month drop since September, 2009.

The California Association of Realtors (CAR) released a new report, revealing sales of distressed homes have plummeted in the past five years. In January, 2009, 69.5 percent of all homes sold in California were distressed, which included short sales and real estate-owned properties (REO). The report issued Monday noted that five years later, distressed home sales made up only 15.6 percent of sold homes.

In a move that could signal a sea change in the industry, mortgage banking law firm Butler & Hosch recently announced that it would acquire Atlanta-based McCurdy & Candler’s default practice.

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.

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.

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.

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.