Government

Several appraisal organizations, representing more than 35,000 real estate appraisers, are voicing their opposition to the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program, set to take effect April 5, 2010. The program allows broker price opinions (BPOs) to be used to determine the value of properties to establish a minimum offer for a short sale. The trade groups argue that the use of BPOs will not protect all parties interests and is likely to open the door for fraud.

Many lending groups have expressed serious concerns about several proposed regulations under the Secure and Fair Enforcement for Mortgage Licensing Act (SAFE Act). To address these concerns, a number of national and local trade groups, led by the Mortgage Bankers Association, filed a comprehensive comment letter with HUD on Friday. While the groups support aspects of the proposal, the letter says HUD is exceeding its statutory authority under the SAFE Act by establishing a backup system and determining whether state laws meet the SAFE Act's minimum requirements.

As servicers step up efforts to modify loans and keep borrowers in their homes, many are tripping over stumbling blocks in the form of home equity loans and other second lien mortgages. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank has sent out a petition to some of the nation's largest junior lien holders demanding that they take ""immediate steps to write down second mortgages"" to create a clear path for sustainable loan restructurings, especially since the prospect for any real return on these seconds is negligible, Frank says.

Driven by legal actions against mortgage modification firms, overall mortgage litigation hit its highest level yet last quarter, according to recent industry study by the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Patton Boggs, LLP. The firm's analysis shows that loan modification cases more than doubled in the last three months of 2009 - and it appears the trend will persist as state and federal agencies continue to crack down on foreclosure rescue fraud.

The FDIC's failed bank list continues to build. It now stands at 26 for the year, after regulators shut the doors on four more institutions over the weekend - in Florida, Illinois, Maryland, and Utah. Just over two months into the year, and already 2010's failures exceed the 2008 full-year total of 25. This latest round of closures is expected to cost the FDIC an estimated $304 million.

According to the Federal Reserve's well-recognized Beige Book, U.S. economic conditions have shown signs of improvement through the first part of this year. Data from nine of the 12 Federal Reserve districts indicated that economic activity improved, but in most cases the increases were ""modest."" Residential real estate markets improved in a number of districts, while nearly all characterized commercial real estate as weak. Stronger home sales were attributed to the federal tax credit for homebuyers.

One of the nation's most visible and vocal lawmakers has cast some doubt on the safety of doing business with the nation's two largest mortgage financiers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, issued a public statement Friday which essentially warns investors that have lent money to the two GSEs and those that have purchased their mortgage-backed securities (MBS) to expect to incur some losses.

The California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA) will receive nearly $700 million in new federal funding to help the state's most troubled homeowners stay in their homes. CalHFA is one of five housing agencies slated to receive a total of $1.5 billion in aid for states where unemployment is high and home prices have fallen more than 20 percent. CalHFA says it will submit its program plans to the federal government by April 16 and expects the new initiatives to be ready for implementation by mid-year or sooner.

For months, industry experts have lamented the nation's poor job market as a stranglehold on the housing market's recovery and a dead weight dragging down occupancy rates and new development in the commercial real estate sector. But according to data released by the Department of Labor Friday, the national unemployment rate was flat from January to February at 9.7 percent. Employers shed just 36,000 jobs during the month - far fewer than economists were expecting.

As mandated by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the secretary of HUD recently released a report to Congress addressing the root causes of the foreclosure crisis and made recommendations on actions that should be taken to mitigate the crisis and help prevent similar crises from occurring in the future.