News

During the second quarter of 2011, foreclosure actions plunged by 51 percent in the tri-county South Florida region compared to the same three-month period in 2010, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com. Lenders filed close to 7,200 notices of default between April and June in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Nearly 14,800 were filed in the second quarter of 2010. At the current pace, foreclosure filings in 2011 would rank as the fewest number of actions since the South Florida real estate downturn began.

The national unemployment rate edged up in June to 9.2 percent, as the economy added just 18,000 jobs. The numbers were worse than market forecasts. Economists were expecting the rate to remain unchanged at 9.1 percent and job gains to be between 85,000 and 100,000. Declines in the labor market have added significantly to the volume of seriously delinquent mortgages. On Thursday, the administration announced that it was extending the mortgage forbearance period to 12 months for unemployed homeowners in government programs.

Data released by Clear Capital Friday show home prices at the national level posted their first quarterly gain in June after nine months of declines. The company says the 0.9 percent increase is an encouraging sign that the markets are capable of positive price growth despite continued economic and foreclosure pressures. But even with the second-quarter uptick, U.S. home prices lost 3.2 percent during the first half of 2011, and Clear Capital is forecasting another 2.4 percent drop for the second half of the year.

A group of mortgage-bond investors has filed a petition with the New York Supreme Court requesting to be cut loose from the $8.5 billion settlement proposed last week by Bank of America. The settlement would resolve nearly all of the lender's repurchase exposure stemming from legacy first-lien residential mortgage bonds issued by Countrywide. Eleven of the companies to be compensated by the arrangement, though, say BofA's proposal is ""inadequate.""

Treasury has released an update to its Home Affordable Modification Program, which provides enhanced incentives to servicers that modify loans quickly rather than letting them linger in delinquency. Incentives vary based on the number of days a mortgage loan is delinquent before receiving modification, ranging from $1,600 to $400. The directive is effective October 1, and applies to all permanent HAMP modifications with trial period plans effective on or after that date.

After changing little over the past month, both long- and short-term mortgage rates rose this week, with some loan products increasing in the range of 10 basis points. The 30-year fixed rate averaged 4.60 percent, while the 15-year fixed came in at 3.75 percent. Adjustable-rate mortgage also headed higher. Freddie Mac explained that mortgage rates followed Treasury yields higher this week, but the company says borrowing costs remain quite affordable by historical standards.

At a hearing Thursday, two House Financial Services subcommittees came together to discuss the role of federal agencies in the creation of new mortgage servicing standards and settlements with the nation's largest mortgage servicers on foreclosure practices. Witnesses called for new universal standards for the servicing industry. ""Improving mortgage servicing will take both market reforms and regulatory reforms,"" said Mark Pearce of the FDIC.

REO Allegiance, a national property preservation and eviction services firm headquartered, now offers custom smartphone applications for property preservation contractors. Field services contractors can view work orders, check company communications, submit updates and bids, take and upload photos, and complete and submit documents directly to REO Allegiance while in the field. Contractors can also navigate and plan routes.

With no sustained pickup in the job market, over six million Americans have been unemployed for longer than 27 weeks. Such extended periods of joblessness remain the predominant force behind high volumes of seriously past-due mortgages. With these realities weighing on an already fragile market, the federal government said Thursday it will extend the mortgage forbearance period for unemployed homeowners to a year under the Federal Housing Administration and Making Home Affordable programs.

Williston Financial Group, LLC (WFG), an Oregon-based holding company and parent of multiple real estate and mortgage services firms, recently expanded to Washington with the acquisition of Northpoint Escrow & Title. Northpoint serves Puget Sound, Snohomish, King, and Pierce counties in Washington, including the Seattle and Tacoma metropolitan areas. WFG says it will continue to expand nationwide.