News

Retired Juniper Networks CEO and former Microsoft executive Kevin Johnson has joined the board of directors at Auction.com, the country's top online real estate marketplace.

Employment growth in the United States took a sharp downturn in August, according to government figures released Friday. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported an increase 142,000 in U.S. payrolls last month, well short of the 230,000 predicted by economists. August's sudden slowdown snaps a six-month streak in which payroll growth came in at 200,000 or higher.

Assurant Specialty Property announced on Thursday that it acquired eMortgage Logic, LLC in an effort to expand its risk management offerings for the mortgage industry. eMortgage Logic is a provider of residential valuation products and valuation technology services.

HomeStar Companies, a provider of comprehensive real estate services and solutions with offices in Dallas, Texas, and the Twin Cities in Minnesota, has announced the appointment of Steve Hozie as both chief financial officer and chief operating officer.

Growth was described as "modest" in the New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, and San Francisco districts, while Philadelphia, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Kansas City reported “modest” growth. Looking ahead, contacts in about half of the districts "generally remained optimistic about future growth," while most of the other districts saw ongoing optimism in specific sectors.

One of 17 defendants in a "foreclosure rescue" fraud case received a 35-year prison sentence for his role in the scam, according to a statement from Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California.

With the Federal Reserve on track to end its monthly bond purchases (currently at a rate of $25 billion and falling), Bove cautions that the loss of one of the tools used to help lift housing out of its post-recession rut could hurt the market, especially as interest rates start to tick back up.

ADP Institute reported the addition of 204,000 nonfarm private sector jobs for the month of August on a seasonally-adjusted basis in its August National Employment Report, released on September 4.

The number of foreclosure filings in a six-county region in Illinois that includes Chicago dropped by nearly 38 percent from the first half of 2013 to the first half of 2014, falling to its lowest level since 2007, according to data released by the Woodstock Institute on September 4.

Avenue 365, a Pennsylvania-based national title insurance and settlement services provider, has announced the hiring of David Tiberio as vice president of default services and as a national account manager.