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A day before Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) director Richard Cordray testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to deliver his semi-annual report, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chair of the House Committee on Financial Services--which was also slated to hear from Cordray--announced his committee cannot accept Cordray's testimony as Cordray's appointment is not legal. Hensarling intends to ""conduct rigorous oversight"" of the agency until the leadership issue is resolved, but he does not accept Cordray's continuation of his position as director.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released Tuesday its House Price Index (HPI) for February, revealing home prices rose 0.7 percent month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis. Year-over-year, U.S. house prices were up 7.1 percent in February, according to FHFA. As of February, the U.S. index rested at 196.3, 13.6 percent below its peak in April 2007 and was roughly the same as its October 2004 reading. FHFA's index has not declined on a monthly basis since January 2012.

Although credit scores play a crucial role in the homebuying process, a recent FindLaw.com survey found nearly a quarter of Americans have never bothered to check their credit report. Overall, 22 percent of the 1,000 adults surveyed said they've never checked their credit report even though credit reporting agencies are required to provide free copies when requested. Out of the 78 percent who said they have checked their credit report, 46 percent checked within the last year.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) ambitious effort to build a National Mortgage Database was not taken lightly by lawmakers during a Senate committee hearing Tuesday. Senators expressed discomfort over the idea of having a federal agency track consumer behavior, despite CFPB director Richard Cordray's continued emphasis on the anonymity the database will provide to individual consumers. Cordray also explained that without the database, the agency can't do its job.

Before deciding on an REO-to-rental investment, it's important to understand distressed property trends on a neighborhood-level, according to DataQuick. This is why the San-Diego-based company has made available the REO-to-Rental Neighborhood Rankings for servicers and investors.

After experiencing the sharpest drop in two years in February, new home sales increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 in March, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected March sales to increase to 419,000 from a February's originally reported 411,000. The median price of a new home, according to the Census-HUD report, plunged $17,900 (or 6.8 percent) in March to $247,000, the largest month-over-month decline since February 2011.

The total number of outstanding mortgages in the nation fell below the 5 million mark for the first time since 2008, according to data from Lender Processing Services. In March, non-current loans totaled 4,997,000, down from 5,104,000 in February. The figure for non-current loans includes 3,308,000 million properties past due 30 days or more but not in foreclosure, as well as 1,689,000 properties sitting in foreclosure inventory.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced two individuals were added to the bureau's leadership team, and two current staff members will be serving in different roles. Dan Smith was hired as the first assistant director for the newly-created Office of Financial Institutions and Business Liaison. The office was formed to connect the CFPB with bank and nonbank trade associations, financial institutions, and businesses to enhance collaboration and communication.

The 2013 national bank failure tally ran up to eight this weekend as three more institutions fell by the wayside. FDIC announced the collapses of Chipola Community Bank in Marianna, Florida; Heritage Bank of North Florida in Orange Park; and First Federal Bank in Lexington, Kentucky. Chipola Community Bank and Heritage Bank of North Florida were both closed by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which appointed FDIC as receiver of both.

As part of its ongoing efforts to assist the industry in the implementation of new mortgage guidelines, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued proposed amendments to address questions and clarify the qualified mortgage (QM) and servicing rules first laid out in January. The proposal addresses five topics, including debt-to-income ratio concerns surrounding the Ability to Repay Rule, uncertainties around the temporary QM provision, and which criteria are used to define ""small servicers.""