News

After showing disappointing preliminary numbers, the final Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey Index of Consumer Sentiment jumped to end March, according to the Surveys of Consumers group. The monthly index reached 78.6, coming in above February's reading of 77.6 and March 2012's reading of 76.2. Preliminary figures released mid-March showed an index reading of 71.8, and economists surveyed by Bloomberg came out with a median forecast of 72.6 for the month.

Lower rental yields might cause investors to lose interest in the housing market, but according to Capital Economics, that scenario is unlikely to play out this year. Currently, the increase in home prices is outpacing the rise in rents, which ""is weighing on rental yields,"" the firm noted in a report authored by the property economist Paul Diggle. However, Capital Economics stated the reduction in rental yields is actually ""very gradual"" and the ""the total return from housing remains attractive."" Thus, investors, who analysts say are driving the recovery, are not expected to exit the market just yet.

The California Attorney General's office awarded a $1 million grant to the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) for assistance in implementing the California Homeowner Bill of Rights.

Although prices are improving and foreclosures are declining, there's still room for economic uncertainty to ""dampen"" housing activity, according to DataQuick's Property Intelligence Report (PIR) for February. For February, DataQuick found home prices grew in 34 of the 42 counties on a monthly and quarterly basis. DataQuick also noted four hard-hit states-Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada-saw double-digit price growth over the last year, while other markets are averaging growth at 2.5 percent.

Last month's uptick in consumer confidence suggests consumers may not be too concerned about pending impacts of fiscal policy, but Fannie Mae predicts they will nonetheless feel some financial tightening over the next few months. Several economic indicators are trending positive right now, but the GSE's March economic forecast warns the pending sequestration and the effects of higher social security taxes may dampen some of the current progress. On the other hand, the GSE continues to see housing as a bright spot in the economy--one that is not likely to darken in the near future.

Personal income rose a solid $143.2 billion or 1.1 percent in February, dwarfing expectations, and spending jumped $77.2 billion, or 0.7 percent, the, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, reported Friday. The data suggest the personal spending component of Gross Domestic Product remained strong in the first quarter. That income grew faster than spending was a boost to personal savings, which increased to $310.9 billion in February from $262.5 billion in January, up from 2.2 percent of disposable (essentially after-tax) income to 2.6 percent.

Industry leaders gathered in Las Colinas, Texas, Thursday for the Five Star Institute's 2013 REO and Short Sale Executive Summit to discuss issues and market conditions impacting the distressed asset space. A number of the nation's leading financial institutions and government agencies were represented at the event designed to facilitate open dialogue and collaboration for developing solutions to today's most pressing REO and short sale challenges.

Mortgage originations in the New England region hit a five-year high in 2012, The Warren Group reported. According to the company's Mortgage MarketShare Module, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island all recorded strong activity last year, with the Bay State showing the most strength.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) went live Thursday with the nation's largest public database of federal consumer financial complaints. Thursday's launch expands the Consumer Complaint Database from about 19,000 credit card complaints to more than 90,000 complaints on mortgages, student loans, bank accounts and services, and other consumer loans.

Carrington Property Services, LLC (Carrington) and LendingXpress, a platform from SWBC, formed an exclusive partnership to bring REO asset management services to smaller-scale financial institutions. As part of the agreement, LendingXpress will market Carrington's REO asset management solution to its customer base of credit unions and community banks.