News

Rep. John Campbell (R-California) introduced to Congress a piece of legislation designed to keep local governments from using eminent domain to seize homes with underwater mortgages. Titled ""The Defending American Taxpayers from Abusive Government Takings Act,"" the bill would prohibit Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, and the Veterans Administration from purchasing or guaranteeing loans originating in counties where a municipality has seized a mortgage loan through eminent domain in the last decade.

Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau met with general praise and a few pointed concerns Thursday when he addressed the Senate Banking Committee when he presented the agency's semi-annual report. While most members of the committee praised the Bureau's progress thus far, a few questioned the extent of its authority and the implications of some of its actions.

The Federal Open Market Committee announced Thursday a new plan to stimulate a moribund economy, continuing two earlier plans which at best stopped the economy from contracting. The FOMC said it would keep the federal funds rate near zero into mid-2015, six months longer than it had said previously. The FOMC voted 11-1 ""to increase policy accommodation by purchasing additional agency mortgage-backed securities at a pace of $40 billion per month.""

Federal agents arrested 10 defendants who worked at a Rancho Cucamonga, California-based business accused of offering false loan modification programs to homeowners, SIGTARP announced Wednesday. Those taken into custody are among 11 defendants named in a federal indictment over a mortgage fraud scheme that allegedly cost distressed homeowners more than $7 million.

Chief Judge Ann Aiken for the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon dismissed a borrower's lawsuit against MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. and defendants.

According to CoreLogic's most recent MarketPulse release, the strongest real estate markets in the country right now have one thing in common: Black gold. The company released its September issue of MarketPulse Thursday, revealing interesting findings from its Real Estate Strength Index (RESi). Based on an analysis of RESi state rankings, advances in oil and gas extraction seem to have provided a substantial boost to states with an abundance of the natural resources.

Mortgage rates saw little change this week as investors await news from the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) about a possible third round of quantitative easing. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 3.55 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending September 13, no different from the week before and only slightly above its all-time low achieved earlier in the summer.

A new state took the spotlight in RealtyTrac's Foreclosure Market Report for August. For the first time since January 2005, which is when RealtyTrac began the report, Illinois ranked number one for its foreclosure rate. Bank repossessed fewer properties in August, with REO activity declining 2 percent month-over-month and 19 percent year-over-year, marking the 22 month in a row of yearly declines.

First-time claims for unemployment jumped 15,000 to 382,000 for the week ended September 8, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Several states reported increases in initial claims, as a result of Tropical Storm Isaac, which increased the total by about 9,000.

The housing market is seeing signs of recovery, and this recovery may be bolstered by the new representation and warranty framework the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced Tuesday, according to Fitch. Relying on signing offers and home tours as a future indicator of home sales, Redfin, a technology-driven real estate broker, predicts the market improvement seen this summer will continue into the fall.