News

Investors who are eagerly waiting for bargain prices from the potential foreclosure flood are likely waiting for something that won't happen, according to the September home value forecast report from Pro Teck Valuation Services. In the report, the company explained why it believes there will be no such flood and points to the current lack of inventory in markets such as San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles.

Consumer spending rose $57.2 billion, 0.1 percent, in August but personal income improved just $15 billion, 0.5 percent, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday. While the increase in spending matched economist expectations, the increase in incomes was half of what had been forecast.

A judge in Georgia dismissed a suit from a borrower alleging wrongful foreclosure. Senior District Judge J. Owen Forrester of the Northern District of Georgia ruled in favor of defendants CitiMortgage, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), and Pendergast & Associates, P.C.

Mortgage performance for loans serviced by large national and federal savings banks weakened in the second quarter of 2012, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) reported Thursday. The percentage of current and performing mortgages stood at 88.7 percent at the end of Q2, a slight drop from Q1, when 88.9 percent of loans were current and performing. However, the share of seriously delinquent mortgages fell 0.8 percent from Q1 to 4.4 percent, the lowest level in three years.

A putative class action lawsuit against Freddie Mac over allegations of securities fraud was dismissed by a federal judge, the GSE announced Thursday in a release.

A Virginia developer was sentenced to 11 1/2 years in federal prison for a bank fraud scheme, which contributed to the collapse of Bank of the Commonwealth, and for his role in a historic-tax-credit scheme, the Office of the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP) announced in a release Wednesday.

Home prices saw a slight boost from June to July, according to the latest home price index (HPI) report from Lender Processing Services (LPS). Based on transactions recorded across the country in July, the HPI experienced a 0.2 percent bump up to $204,000. While the boost is a relatively small month-to-month increase, it represents a more significant 4.3 percent increase from the beginning of 2012 and a 1.8 percent increase from July 2011.

After reaching a two-year high in July, the Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell in August to 99.2, the lowest level since April, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 102.2. The index fell in three of the four Census regions. PHSI data are generally reflected in the report on existing home sales two months out, meaning the August PHSI points to weaker homes sales reported for October.

It's unknown whether or not the Federal Reserve's new stimulus will be able to whip the economy back into shape, but one thing's for sure: It's sent mortgage rates plummeting. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed new record lows in all categories except the 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

Real gross domestic product - the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States - increased at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012, down sharply from the 1.7 percent growth rate reported one month ago, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 2.0 percent.