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Freddie Mac: Housing Still Has ‘Substantial’ Room to Grow

Housing may not be where it used to be, but on the upside, Freddie Mac suggested this indicates there's still plenty of room for the industry to grow. ""[T]he level of housing activity is still near historic lows. This means that there is still room for substantial growth in housing and housing-related industries before we return to a more normal environment,"" Freddie Mac stated in its latest economic and housing outlook. This optimistic viewpoint was reflected in the GSE's forecast for housing in 2013, especially for housing starts.

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New Firm Joins LOGS Network

LOGS Network welcomed a California law firm to its nationwide network. The new firm, Roberts & Shapiro, LLP, was formed from a partnership agreement between Keefe Roberts & Associates and Shapiro & Kreisman, LLC. The firm will handle default-related matters throughout the state of California.

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‘Life Rafts’ Keep Underwater Mortgages in San Bernardino Afloat: Fed

In a recent blog post from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, three Fed researchers shared their findings on mortgages that would have been targeted by a controversial use of eminent domain proposed in San Bernardino County. Although the researchers found only 11 percent of the open loans in the county were not underwater, they also reported a dramatic decrease in payments and an increase in home values.

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RealtyTrac: Foreclosure Starts Slow to 79-Month Low

Foreclosure activity slowed in January with an especially notable drop in foreclosure starts, which hit a 79-month low, according to a recent foreclosure report from RealtyTrac. Foreclosure filings--default notices, scheduled auctions, and bank repossessions--were down monthly and yearly by 7 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Data from RealtyTrac also revealed a steep drop in foreclosure starts as starts fell 11 percent from the December and 28 percent from January 2012. Foreclosure starts are now at the lowest level since June 2006.

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First-Time Jobless Claims Drop; Continuing Claims at 43-Month Low

Bolstered by favorable seasonal adjustment factors, first-time claims for unemployment insurance dropped 27,000 to 341,000 for the week ending February 9, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected a much smaller decline to 360,000. Initial claims were under 350,000--a dividing line between a strong and weak labor market--for the third time in the last five weeks, hinting layoff activity has returned to normal.

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Judge Rejects Wells Fargo’s Bid to Have Case Dismissed

The federal judge who approved last year's National Mortgage Settlement between the government and the five largest servicers turned down Wells Fargo's claim that a federal lawsuit against the bank violates settlement terms. District Judge Rosemary Collyer wrote in her opinion that Wells Fargo took ""a leap of logic"" in its interpretation of several settlement provisions that would bar the government from bringing certain claims against the bank.

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CFPB Reveals Implementation Plan for New Rules

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently finalized several rules for the mortgage industry, including the ability-to-repay rule and new mortgage servicing guidelines. As the Bureau prepares for the rules to take effect in January 2014, it aims to take several actions to educate and prepare both the industry and consumers on the new regulations.

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Curry Addresses Critics of Foreclosure Deal in Speech

In a speech before the Women in Housing and Finance, Comptroller of the of the Currency Thomas J. Curry addressed critics of the recent $9.3 billion foreclosure deal. The foreclosure settlement officially ended what was known as the Independent Foreclosure Review (IFR) and replaced the review with a new approach that is said to compensate borrowers much more quickly. Although the new approach means borrowers will start seeing compensation in the next month or so, Curry admitted the approach is still ""not without critics."" In his speech, he addressed two main concerns.

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Obama Highlights Housing in State of the Union Address

In his State of the Union Address, amid discussion of tackling the federal deficit and revising America's tax laws, President Barack Obama gave special attention to the nation's recovering but still-struggling housing market. ""Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before,"" he said

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MortgageKeeper Reports Record Month in January

MortgageKeeper Referral Services--developer of a database that connects struggling homeowners with local, qualified nonprofit and government agencies--reported its best month thus far in January after more than 111,000 referrals were issued. According to MortgageKeeper, the most recent figure represents a 47 percent increase from January 2012 and stands 13 percent higher than the previous record.

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