News

As home prices improve and headlines spell out recovery, those on the ground in housing markets across the country are encountering a new threat: zombies. These so-called zombie foreclosures take place when a bank initiates foreclosure on a property but then abandons the process, leaving the property in a sort-of no-man's land--vacant but not for sale.

Continuing to shrug off sequester cutbacks, but feeling the effects of adverse weather, the nation's economy ""continued to expand at a modest to moderate pace"" from early July through late August, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday in its Beige Book assessment. Echoing--or perhaps anticipating--governors' concerns at the upcoming policy meeting, the Beige Book said ""hiring held steady or increased modestly"" while ""upward price pressures remained subdued, and prices increased slightly.""

Genworth Financial, Inc., announced Wednesday that the company is strengthening the senior leadership team of its U.S. Mortgage Insurance (USMI) unit with the addition of two key executives. Paul Gomez was recently promoted to COO of USMI, and George Reichert was named chief information officer (CIO).

Fannie Mae's past due loans continue to decline. The GSE reported Tuesday that its conventional single-family serious delinquency rate was 2.70 percent in July, down seven basis points from June. The multifamily serious delinquency rate was 0.18 percent, a drop of 10 basis points. Fannie Mae completed 11,870 loan modifications during the month, bringing the year's total to 95,381 for the first seven months of 2013.

The American Land Title Association (ALTA) awarded three National Title Professional designations on Tuesday. The professional designation was received by Paula Bachmeier of Minot Guaranty and Escrow Company in Minot, North Dakota; Nancy Landmark of Commercial Partners Title in Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Gregory Wolff of Fidelity National Title Company in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

CoreLogic reported a 12.4 percent annual increase in its Home Price Index (HPI) in July. The yearly gain (which includes distressed sales) represents the 17th consecutive monthly year-over-year improvement. Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were Nevada (27 percent), California (23.2 percent), Arizona (17 percent), Wyoming (16.4 percent), and Oregon (15 percent). Only one state reported a yearly decline: Delaware (-1.3 percent).

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services announced Monday that it has completed the acquisition of Svenson, a regulatory reporting software suite for financial institutions, which is based in Austria. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Svenson was part of SmartStream, a provider of financial transaction management solutions and complements Wolters Kluwer's existing offerings for regulatory reporting and risk management.

Delinquencies and foreclosures are continuing to decline with higher concentrations among Alt-A and subprime loans, according to the latest Mortgage Market Monitor from Lender Processing Services (LPS). Foreclosures are down 31 percent year-over-year in July, while delinquencies are down 9 percent, according to LPS data. Both delinquencies and foreclosures declined over the 12-month period among all types of loans, except Alt-A and subprime loans.

Stewart Lender Services announced Tuesday that it has acquired key assets of the due diligence and credit risk management firm Allonhill. Stewart will retain all Allonhill personnel as well as Allonhill's headquarter facility in Denver and the technology developed by the Allonhill team. The acquisition strengthens Stewarts offerings by adding due diligence, loan quality reviews, compliance solutions, and servicer performance management to its suite of products provided to the mortgage servicer and investment communities.

Mortgage Insurance Companies of America (MICA) reported its members issued 50,575 policies to start the year's second half, up from 49,666 in June and 39,192 in July 2012. Dollar volume of primary new insurance written totaled $13 billion, marking the fifth straight month of gains. (Despite a decline in policies issued in June, dollar volume still saw an increase to $12.3 billion). After falling in June, the number of private mortgage insurance applications ticked up in July, climbing to 53,502--indicating another potential increase in activity in the near future.