News

The National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, announced Tuesday the launch of a phone counseling service aimed at helping homeowners facing foreclosure.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris announced Tuesday that the Assembly Public Safety Committee passed a piece of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights designed to protect the state's homeowners from scams.

Chicago-based Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc. (ATG) has announced the launch of its new subsidiary, Auctions by ATG, which will host a multi-property auction on June 22.

A California real estate agent pled guilty to conspiracy to commit real estate fraud after collecting short sale fees he was not entitled to, the California Department of Real Estate announced in a statement Monday. In October 2010, the DRE filed an action against Matthew Wayne Stewart and alleged that he received illegal profits in two short sale transactions in Placer and Nevada counties. Stewart was accused of requiring buyers in the two transactions to pay additional short sale negation fees that were hidden and not disclosed to the lenders or sellers.

While other experts and analysts have concluded home prices are on the rise and the recovery is under way, Radar Logic released a report challenging the upbeat viewpoint. The analytics firm stated in a report that it believes the oversupply of homes relative to demand will prevent sustained home price gains for some time. The argument made is that as buyers absorb the supply of homes for sale in certain markets and prices start to stabilize as a result, home owners who have been waiting on the sidelines to sell will do so once price start to improve. This will increase supply once again, and home prices will stop appreciating as supply exceeds demand.

The revised figures for economic growth in the year's first quarter were disappointing, but Fannie Mae's Economic & Strategic Research Group is still forecasting moderate growth for the remainder of 2012. A report released by the group Tuesday projected 2.2 percent growth for all of 2012. Several factors presented risks to the economic outlook, including a slowing trend in job growth, potential contagion in the euro zone from Greece's financial issues, the slowing Chinese economy, and the potential of a fiscal drag in the United States. Consumer attitudes also influence the economic outlook.

For the fourth consecutive month, the RE/MAX National Housing Report found an overall increase in median home price across the country. In May, the national median home price was $166,500, a 6.1 percent increase year-over-year and a 4.1 increase month-over-month. Of the 53 metros surveyed, a record 46 showed rises in median home price, with nine seeing double-digit increases. Closed transactions across the United States also rose in May, with markets showing an overall increase of 12.6 percent from April and 12.8 percent from May 2011. May 2012 marked the 11th straight month of year-over-year home sales gains.

Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. (FICS), reported Monday that rising demand for commercial real estate (CRE) servicing software has led to a major increase in the Dallas-based company's user volume. FICS has seen a 175 percent increase in Commercial Servicer user volume during the last nine months.

DS News interviewed REO4Kids member Kelly Anne Porter to learn more about the children's charity initiative. Porter is an REO broker based in the North Texas area. REO4Kids members work with local and national communities by providing outreach programs, training, and fundraising activities. Members also donate $100 for every REO transaction closed. Since 2009, members have raised more than $600,000 nationwide.

The Southlake, Texas-based Orion Financial Group, Inc., announced Monday a nearly 30 percent increase in the number of transactions performed for lenders, servicers, and investors.