Government

The University of Michigan's preliminary Index of Consumer Sentiment report shows a drop in confidence for November--and Capital Economics' Amna Asaf is at a loss to explain why. The index fell from 73.2 to a two-year low of 72.0 in the first November report. With the economy in a relatively healthier position compared to last month, Asaf--an economist for the macroeconomics research firm--says the decline is something of a surprise.

Safeguard Properties LLC filed on Tuesday a motion to dismiss a complaint brought against the company by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who has charged Safeguard with illegally evicting homeowners before their foreclosures were finalized.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has investigated Castle & Cooke Mortgage, LLC, and on Thursday, announced a proposed consent order in its enforcement action. Castle & Cooke allegedly steered consumers into mortgages that were unnecessarily costly, and paid loan officers illegal quarterly bonuses based on the interest rate of the loans they offered to borrowers.

A recent bulletin from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recommends new guidelines for national banks and federal savings institutions regarding their third party vendors, including appraisal management companies (AMCs). Banks and mortgage lenders are cautioned to choose their appraisers and other vendors wisely, as regulators will hold lenders accountable of the quality and accuracy of their vendors' work.

As of September, more than 1.2 million homeowners have received a permanent modification through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Homeowners currently in permanent HAMP mods have been granted an estimated $12.1 billion in reduced principal, Treasury reports. In fact, officials say of all non-GSE loans eligible for principal reduction entering HAMP in September, 72 percent included a principal reduction feature.

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to see strong profits as the housing market improves. With the release of their third-quarter results the GSEs announced they will be making substantial payments to the U.S. Treasury in December--$8.6 billion from Fannie Mae and $30.4 billion from Freddie Mac. Together, the two companies will have paid back about $185 billion to taxpayers as of December, nearly equaling the $188 billion in bailout money provided to the two mortgage financiers.

Merscorp Holdings, Inc. announced Thursday that the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), JPMorgan Chase, and other MERS members in a recent case in which the plaintiff claimed the hidden purpose of MERS was to defraud borrowers and court clerks by hiding the true owners of secured interests in property.

Ideally, the government should back up to 35 percent of all new mortgages, according to the median response given in a recent Zillow survey which polled 108 economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists. The government currently backs about 90 percent of all new mortgages. The last time the government held a 35 percent share of new originations was in 2006 at the height of the housing bubble.

Some 204,000 Americans found work in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning. Yet with the number of public employees counted as unemployed or temporarily laid off as a result of the federal government shutdown last month, the national unemployment rate rose to 7.3 percent, up from 7.2 percent in September. Job gains for both August and September were revised upward, adding a combined 60,000 more to the workforce.

While home price gains continue to exceed historical norms at the national level, the latest study by Trulia reveals marked differences in appreciation between predominantly Republican and predominantly Democratic metros. The company says home prices are skyrocketing in many of America's bluest metros, like Oakland and Detroit, while the home-price rebound seems to have bypassed most of America's reddest metros.