Foreclosure

Pegasystems Inc, a provider of customer relationship management solutions, has launched a new pre-foreclosure solution that allows mortgage servicers to implement regulatory quality controls before foreclosure. The timing of the product roll-out couldn't be more apt, considering the uncertainty now surrounding foreclosure documentation and servicing procedures due to the recent robo-signing fiasco.

In order to deal with the influx of loan modifications that many banks are dealing with, Bank of America Home Loans has made the decision to move some of its mortgage loan originators and other staff to the loan modification department. The company plans on shifting around 2,500 employees to the modification side, where they will remain for at least the majority of 2011. That will bring the bank's team of home retention professionals to nearly 30,000.

New data from HOPE NOW shows that the industry completed more than 1.5 million loan modifications for at-risk homeowners from January through October of this year. That translates to an average of 154,000 homeowners per month who have been able to remain in their homes with an affordable loan modification solution. The report makes it clear, though, that there's far more work to be done. HOPE NOW says there are currently 3.4 million homeowners 60 or more days behind on their mortgage payments.

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency's new Foreclosure Prevention Fund is now available statewide through participating HUD-approved counseling agencies. Financed by the Department of Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund, the federal grant money will be used to financially assist homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages due to job loss or other temporary hardships. The agency expects the program to enable 21,000 North Carolina residents to keep their homes.

Americans continue to grapple with uncertainty about the housing market, with 58 percent of U.S. adults expecting recovery to be at least another two years away. Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac and Pete Flint of Trulia are of the same mind as consumers. They peg the housing recovery to begin taking shape between 2013 and 2014. The robo-signing debacle has left most consumers mired in distrust of banks and the government. The industry experts say its effect on REO sales will be minimal, but the impact on consumer confidence could be especially damaging.

The recent optimism surrounding delinquencies on commercial real estate loans bundled into investment bonds has been hit with a blast of cold water. The rate of past due loans suddenly jumped in November after a big decline the month before. According to data from Trepp LLC, the percentage of loans held in U.S. commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) that were 30 or more days delinquent, in foreclosure, or REO rose 35 basis points in November to 8.93 percent, putting the value of delinquent loans at $60.3 billion.

Federal banking regulators have been conducting reviews of foreclosure practices at the nation's largest mortgage servicers. They say the robo-signing controversy has exposed widespread breakdowns in the process, and some are pushing for Congress to enact legislation to establish federal standards for foreclosure procedures. Federal Reserve Governor Dan Tarullo says the industry will need to make ""substantial investments"" to fix the problems and should consider ""fundamental structural changes"" to the current mortgage system.

The real estate software firm eBrokerHouse recently released its Rapid Trustee Sale (RTS) tracking and management software platform for Los Angeles County and Orange County auctions. The system allows agents and investors to track opening bids in real time and have access to every county auction that the software services. The company is planning to expand RTS' coverage to other counties throughout California as well as Arizona.

New data released by RealtyTrac Thursday shows that distressed homes - including those in default, scheduled for foreclosure auction, and REO - accounted for 25 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the third quarter. These properties sold at an average of 32 percent below the price of their non-distressed counterparts. The company tracked 113,933 REO sales during the July to September period and 74,815 pre-foreclosure, typically short sale, transactions.

Freddie Mac said Wednesday that it has ordered all foreclosure evictions involving occupied single-family and 2-4 unit properties to be suspended from December 20, 2010 to January 3, 2011. The policy applies to all homes with Freddie Mac mortgages. It's become a common practice for lenders to temporarily halt evictions during the holiday season. Fannie Mae and most other large mortgage providers are expected to follow suit.