Market Studies

The Cogsville Group, LLC picked up 94 Fannie Mae foreclosures in Chicago through the Federal Housing Finance Agency's REO Initiative. The Cogsville Group is a private equity firm based in New York with a focus on distressed sales. The FHFA said in a release that all properties purchased through the program were sold near or above market value. The 94 properties sold included 111 units, 68 of which were occupied. FHFA also stated Fannie Mae will continue with bulk sales in markets with a strong demand for rental housing and a surplus of REO properties.

Mortgage-related business closings and failures are on track to post fewer incidences in 2012 than any year since the mortgage crisis began. In the third quarter, 17 mortgage-related businesses failed, down from 25 in the previous quarter and 31 in the same quarter last year, according to a report released by Mortgage Daily. Bank failures have been on the decline for the past four consecutive quarters.

Home prices continued to trend upwards in August, posting both yearly and monthly gains for the sixth consecutive month, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. When including distressed sales, home prices in August rose 4.6 percent from a year ago, marking the biggest yearly gain since July 2006. Month-over-month, prices were up 0.3 percent from July to August. CoreLogic's Pending HPI points to further increases into September. Prices including distressed sales are expected to rise by 5 percent yearly and 0.3 percent monthly.

Home prices continued to reclaim lost ground in September, up 3.6 percent annually with increases recorded for every corner of the country, Clear Capital reported Tuesday. Improvements have been so strong, in fact, the real estate valuation firm says yearly growth is forecast to shake off winter's chill and continue through the first quarter of 2013. That is, if federal lawmakers can keep from squashing consumer confidence and agree on a resolution to the looming ""fiscal cliff"" that awaits at year-end without letting market uncertainties fester all the way up until the deadline.

In a report from IHS Global Insight, economic issues in Michigan were examined as part of the research firm's analysis of the 12 swing states.

A California man was placed under arrest Friday on a complaint charging him with mail fraud for running a multistate scam that bilked homeowners out of more than $3.1 million. Alan David Tikal of Brentwood, California, was arrested at his home for a complaint that he scammed more than 1,000 homeowners out of millions of dollars in a fraudulent foreclosure rescue scheme.

Both existing and new home sales are on the rise, but no amount of improvement in the housing sector will bring relief to the overall economy, which continues to struggle, according to Capital Economics. Economists at Capital Economics suggest the Fed's launch of QE3 may bring the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate even lower. While this may entice more home buyers, ""the bottom line is that housing is unlikely to become a significant driver of GDP growth,"" Capital Economics states.

Home prices and home sales are rising, despite lackluster demand of traditional owner-occupied housing, according to Tim Rood of The Collingwood Group. Rood points out that median home prices and the number of home sales are both nearly 10 percent above what they were one year ago. This rise is not spurred by owner-occupants, the traditional ""backbone of the U.S. housing market,"" according to Rood. Purchases by owner-occupants declined 15.5 percent in 2011, while investment and vacation home sales increased by 7 percent.

The population of CMBS loans handled by special servicers is declining, which could signal a turning point for the commercial real estate sector, Fitch Ratings said in a report Friday. As of June 30 of this year, the balance for CMBS loans shrunk to $80.5 billion, down from $85.5 billion in June 2011 and a significant drop from $92 billion in June 2010.

Investors who are eagerly waiting for bargain prices from the potential foreclosure flood are likely waiting for something that won't happen, according to the September home value forecast report from Pro Teck Valuation Services. In the report, the company explained why it believes there will be no such flood and points to the current lack of inventory in markets such as San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles.