News

November marked the fourth straight month that Fitch Ratings has recorded a decline in the delinquency rate for loans held in U.S. commercial-backed mortgage securities (CMBS). CMBS late-pays fell by 15 basis points to 8.41 percent, as new delinquencies totaling $1.8 billion were offset by $2.2 billion of resolutions. Behind the positive numbers, though, Fitch says the performance of CMBS collateralized by office properties remain an area of concern, with more than half of all new delinquencies stemming from office loans.

Six former executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now facing securities fraud charges for making misleading statements about the companies' holdings of subprime loans between March 2007 and August 2008. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges they fed the markets false information about the amount of risk on each company's books. Both GSEs entered into non-prosecution agreements with the SEC and have agreed to cooperate in the litigation against their former executives.

The ongoing turmoil still gripping housing markets across the country has manifested itself in the Federal Reserve's macro assessment of household wealth and capital flow. With foreclosure stripping millions of Americans of their largest asset and potential homebuyers still watching for the market bottom, the total sum of home mortgage debt in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level in nearly five years. Outstanding mortgage debt contracted by 1.8 percent over the third-quarter period to $9.88 trillion.

Industry veteran Michelle Begni-Hymer will join Equity Pointe Asset Services, Inc. as SVP of sales and marketing, according to an announcement made by the company. Begni-Hymer has over 15 years' experience in the default mortgage servicing industry, most recently serving as VP of customer relations for Lender Processing Services.

Stewart Lender Services is hosting a job fair on Monday, December 19 in Houston, Texas, in order to hire approximately 200 to 300 associates to fill mortgage servicing and loss mitigation positions. The company says it is growing in all areas, including call center services, home retention services, loan servicing, loan processing services, and REO. The event offers job seekers on-the-spot interviews and gives them a chance to meet face-to-face with hiring managers and recruiters.

Low property valuations and steep sales discounts reduce the proceeds from liquidated loans by almost a third, according to Moody's Investors Service. As home prices drop, equity erosion drives most of the losses incurred on defaulted loans, but Moody's says in today's environment that's not the whole story. The agency's analysis of 46,000 loans liquidated since 2007 found that on average, a foreclosed property will be valued about 18 percent lower than average home prices, and will be subject to an additional sales discount of about 15 percent.

After filing criminal charges about a month ago against two title officers employed by Lender Processing Services, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has filed complaints against three additional notaries. The new defendants allegedly filed fraudulent notices of default with the Clark County Recorder's office after notarizing the signature of persons not in their presence. A fourth notary reportedly struck a plea deal with the attorney general after admitting to notarizing about 25,000 fraudulent foreclosure documents.

Fannie Mae has released the third-quarter results of its Servicer Total Achievement Rewards (STAR) Program, which grades servicers on foreclosure prevention performance. The GSE says three companies - JPMorgan Chase, PHH Mortgage, and U.S. Bank - demonstrated improvements in scorecard metrics measuring the volume of foreclosure alternatives provided to borrowers. All three raised their scores to a 3-STAR rating, which means they are at or above the median performance level.

It's now more affordable than ever to take out a home loan. According to Freddie Mac's nationwide survey, the 30-year fixed rate this week matched its average all-time record low of 3.94 percent, while the 15-year rate sank to a new low of 3.21 percent. The 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage also set a new all-time low at 2.86 percent. Included in Freddie Mac's report this week is a breakdown of average mortgage rates by region for the various loan products covered in the GSE's study. Rates are lowest in the West.

Foreclosure activity slipped 3 percent in November when compared to the previous month, but filings at various stages of the process showed starkly different movements, according to RealtyTrac's latest market report. Scheduled auctions hit a nine-month high following the default surge that began in August. At the same time, RealtyTrac says REO activity is at a 44-month low. Total filings are down by double-digits from a year ago, but RealtyTrac doesn't view the numbers as the making of a trend.