News

For the second straight year, Washington, D.C., is the place lenders are most likely to encounter mortgage fraud, according to the annual Mortgage Fraud Risk Report released by Interthinx. This continues the rising trend in fraud risk observed over the past three years as inventories shrink, prices rise, and markets stabilize.

With the spring buying season in the housing market right around the corner and stronger employment numbers reported, confidence is gaining that economic recovery is right around the corner. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found 59 of the 350 metro markets examined have returned to or exceeded their last normal levels of economic and housing activity.

McCalla Raymer, a full service provider of residential and commercial real estate legal services, was honored by the Downtown Orlando Partnership at its annual ceremony. The company was the recipient of the Golden Brick Award, given out annually to projects that affect the downtown development district.

Fannie Mae released Monday its most recent National Housing Survey, revealing a slight softening in the housing recovery as monthly indicators remain volatile. According to results from the March survey, fewer than half of consumers polled expect home prices to continue rising over the next 12 months, continuing a trend of uncertainty that started as price gains began to slow noticeably last fall.

A former bank executive for a Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) bank has been indicted in a bank fraud conspiracy. The announcement came from the Office of the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP), which commented that Gary Alan Rickenbach of Little Rock, Arkansas has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Black Knight Financial Service’s Mortgage Monitor Report reports effective loan modification efforts have shown far fewer defaults, which helps those underwater already in homes. However, those looking to get a home that have had some trouble in the past may hit a brick wall, as only 30% of loans last year went to borrowers with credit scores below 720, which isn't even close to the subprime score of 620.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) latest Housing Scorecard for March, released in conjunction with the U.S. Treasury, showed progress in the housing market, but cautioned that the national economy is still healing from the Great Recession. In particular, the report commented that foreclosure starts continued to decrease while January home prices remained stable.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System released findings from its Senior Credit Officer Opinion Survey for March, 2014. The report found that credit officers are experiencing an increased demand for residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS).

Caliber Home Loans announced that Karen Bausman has joined the company as Managing Sales Director of Correspondent Lending for the company’s Eastern Region. Bausman joins Caliber’s existing sales team of 10 sales directors who service customers nationwide.

Homevestors of America expects home prices to surge in the coming months, recovering from the winter storms that plagued large swaths of the country, limiting home prices and home sales. Three Texas cities led the list—Homevestors noted Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin as prime metros for home price growth.