News

In 2012, lender-placed insurance issues cost Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a combined $360 million, and now the federal government may take legal action against servicers for charging excessive LPI rates, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s Office of the Inspector General.

In its third and final estimate of first-quarter growth, the Department of Commerce recorded an annualized 2.9 percent decline in GDP throughout the year's first months. While analysts expected GDP growth to shrink further following the last estimate of a 1.0 percent decline, the reported number represents a sharper downturn than the 1.8 percent contraction that had been forecast.

Associa, North America's largest community association management firm, announced its president and CEO John Carona has won the 2014 EY Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Southwest Region in the service business category.

Freddie Mac released its monthly volume summary for May 2014, tracking information on the company's mortgage-related portfolio, securities issuance, risk management, delinquencies, debt activities, and other investments. The summary found that overall, Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio decreased at an annualized rate of 2.1 percent in May.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that Brotman Enterprise, LLC will pay $25,000 as part of an agreement resolving allegations of discrimination. The Philadelphia-area real estate company settled with HUD as part of a Conciliation Agreement.

In its latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report, S&P Dow Jones Indices recorded an annual price increase of 10.8 percent among both the 10- and 20-city composites. Those figures compare to year-over-year increases of 12.6 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively. A consensus of economists surveyed by Econoday called for a gain of 11.4 percent in the 20-city index.

Existing-home sales rose in May at their highest monthly growth rate in years as inventory continued to expand, the National Association of Realtors(NAR) reported. According to NAR, total existing-home sales—representing completed transactions of single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops—jumped 4.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million.

Florida's housing market had more new listings, an increase in median prices, and an uptick in inventory in May, according to Florida Realtors. Completed sales of single-family homes totaled 23,013 across the state, an increase of 3.6 percent over the May 2013 figure.

DiversityBusiness.com, the nation's leading multicultural social media site, recognized VRM Mortgage Services (VRM) and PCV Murcor (PCV) as two of the nation’s "Top Businesses" for 2014. The award recognizes and honors individuals who have established themselves as a world-class community of entrepreneurs.

Black Knight Financial Services released its "First Look" at May Mortgage data, which found that foreclosure inventory declined to its lowest level since July 2008. As a percentage of total inventory, foreclosure pre-sale inventory is 1.91 percent, down 5.56 percent month-over month.