Loss Mitigation

First time claims for unemployment insurance fell 23,000 to 393,000 for the week ended November 224, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s report was revised upward to 416,000 from the originally reported 410,000. Continuing claims--reported on a one-week lag--fell 70,000 to 3,287,000.

While almost one-quarter of homeowners remain underwater, rising home prices over the past year have some economists hopeful negative equity could begin to diminish in coming months. Negative equity is still crippling many homeowners and the wider economy, Capital Economics stated in a report. But, if home prices continue to rise, the global research firm sees the potential for 3.5 million homeowners to move out of negative equity positions over the next 12 months.

The Federal Reserve painted a picture of a split economy with concerns about the ""fiscal cliff"" in its periodic Beige Book released Wednesday. The economy, according to the Beige Book, expanded ""at a measured pace"" in seven of the 12 federal reserve districts--Cleveland, Richmond, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, and San Francisco. According to the Beige Book, business leaders and others ""expressed concern and uncertainty about the federal budget, especially the fiscal cliff.""

Consumer debt declined in the third quarter, largely due to decreasing mortgage debt throughout the nation, according to the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit released by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. After decreasing by $74 billion in the third quarter, consumer debt now stands at about $11.31 trillion. Mortgage balances make up the bulk of household debt but are on the decline as well. After a 1.5 percent decline over the third quarter, Americans hold $8.03 trillion in mortgage debt.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced revisions to parts of its loss mitigation program last week in order to expand the number of borrowers who can receive assistance. Through changes to the Loss Mitigation Home Retention Options, more homeowners in distress should be able to qualify for FHA foreclosure prevention efforts and the level of assistance available should also increase.

After suddenly jumping 7.7 percent in September, the nation's delinquency rate fell in October, according to first look data from Lender Processing Services (LPS). The delinquency rate stood at 7.03 percent in October, a decrease of 4.91 percent from September and 7.19 percent from last year. Historically, LPS says the delinquency rate is actually expected to tick up in October due to seasonal effects. Overall, the number of properties 30 days or more past due or in foreclosure numbered 5.3 million.

Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC and Walter Investment Management Corp. announced the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved their bid for Residential Capital, LLC (ResCap). In October, Ocwen and Walter Investment won a bid priced at $3 billion for ResCap’s mortgage servicing and originations businesses. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, according to the announcements.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell 41,000 to 410,000 for the week ending November 17, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Economists expected 415,000 initial claims filings. The previous week's report was revised upward to 451,000 from the originally reported 439,000. In addition to the direct impact on businesses, Hurricane Sandy, which ripped through the East Coast on October 29, forced the closing of government offices that process claims filed by telephone or online.

Forty-one state attorneys general signed a letter Tuesday urging U.S. House and Senate leaders to extend the expiring Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007. The attorneys general argued failure to extend the act would take away from the national mortgage settlement. ""Requiring a homeowner to pay income tax on forgiven or canceled mortgage debt would make the National Mortgage Settlement much less effective,"" the letter states. The act, which is set to expire December 31, 2012, allows taxpayers to be excluded from paying taxes on forgiven debt from a foreclosure, short sale, or loan modification.

An analysis released by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods(KBW) found representation and warranty costs for loan repurchases remained elevated in Q3. According to KBW, current losses can mostly be attributed to loans sold to the GSEs. Fannie Mae repurchases totaled $2.02 billion in Q3, and its balance of outstanding repurchase requests increased to $16.2 billion. Meanwhile, Freddie Mac repurchases totaled $819 million, and its outstanding requests ticked up to $2.94 billion.