Foreclosure

Integrated Asset Services (IAS) says the size and scope of home price declines are accelerating across the nation. The firm's IAS360 House Price Index declined another 2.6 percent over the first three months of 2011. At the end of March, the IAS360 was standing at a level not seen since the second quarter of 2003. The company says foreclosures are expected to rise to 1.2 million this year, adding to an already engorged housing supply and exerting further downward pressure on property values.

Wells Fargo says as of March 31, the company had 664,195 loans in active trial or permanent mortgage modifications. Eighty-six percent, or 568,548, were through Wells Fargo's own modification programs. Loans restructured through HAMP tallied 95,647. At the same time, 7.22 percent of all first mortgage and home equity loans serviced by the company were past due or in foreclosure in the first quarter, down from 8.02 percent. While past-dues are dropping, litigation expenses related to foreclosures are expected to rise.

A new product from Aon Underwriting Managers will offer financial institutions that own or service mortgage loan portfolios the ability to combine insurance coverage. Aon's Global Portfolio Protection Program (GP3) offers mortgage impairment protection, mortgagee errors and omissions coverage, foreclosed/real estate-owned property and liability insurance, and force-placed hazard and flood insurance in one insurance policy.

State attorneys general are holding meetings with the nation's largest mortgage servicers this week to negotiate a settlement agreement for the robo-signing issues that surfaced last fall. The most controversial piece of the AGs initial proposal - mandated principal write-downs - has reportedly been dropped from the discussions. The primary issue now is the amount of fines to be levied, which the states want to use to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie has signed into law a measure aimed at stemming foreclosures in the state by bringing homeowners and their lenders together to negotiate an alternative resolution. Based on first-quarter foreclosure activity, RealtyTrac reports that Hawaii had the 11th highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 201 homes in the state receiving a filing during the first three months of this year.

Recent news has highlighted the severity of the renewed downturn in home prices, but Capital Economics says although condominiums will not escape altogether, over the next year or so condo prices are likely to fall by less than their single-family counterparts. The research firm notes that demand for condos is currently stronger than demand for single-family homes, due to cash buyers and investors seeking rental income. The condo market also boasts a lower delinquency rate, which suggests fewer foreclosed properties will support the supply of condos.

CoreLogic says its home price index has posted year-over-year declines for eight months in a row now. The company's latest reading shows home prices nationally fell 7.5 percent in March 2011 compared to March 2010 when distressed sales - including REO and short sale transactions - are factored into the equation. The data clearly demonstrates the extent to which pre- and post-foreclosure sales are weighing down overall market assessments. CoreLogic says if you take out the distressed factor, home prices are down just 0.96 percent from a year ago.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says it's seeing ""signs of healing"" in consumer credit markets, as evidenced by a decline in new foreclosures, bankruptcies, and mortgage delinquencies during the first three months of this year. About 368,000 borrowers had a foreclosure notation added to their credit reports in the first quarter, while new bankruptcies dropped to 434,000. At the same time, about 2.4 percent of current mortgage balances transitioned into delinquency, the second straight quarterly improvement in this measure.

Home values in the U.S. fell faster in the first quarter of 2011 than they have in any quarter since 2008, when the market experienced its worst performance, according to Zillow. The company's index of residential property values fell 3 percent during the first three months of this year when compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. As a result, negative equity hit a new high-water mark with 28.4 percent of homeowners with mortgages owing more on the loan than their home is worth.

North Carolina real estate firm Jewell Realty, which specializes in bank-owned REO, foreclosed, and distressed properties in the commercial real estate sector, has launched a new Web site, which the company says is primarily a one-stop resource for quality commercial REO properties and other choice commercial bank foreclosures. Buyers can search for a private residence, a community development, a warehouse, an office building, and even open land.