News

Foreclosure activity is slowing in Massachusetts, according to the latest report by the Warren Group in Boston. Lenders filed 1,048 petitions to foreclose in the Bay State during March, a 60 percent decrease from March 2010. Foreclosure deeds also dropped, declining 60 percent from a year earlier. Likewise, auction announcements plummeted 62 percent.

The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that sales of previously owned homes rose 3.7 percent last month, following the 9.6 drop recorded in February. The results were slightly better than forecast, but reaction was mixed after the release of the report. One economist says sales have now stabilized at a level no higher than that seen during the recession, and with so many forced foreclosed sales, a recovery is not even on the horizon. But another points out that it's distressed properties that are helping to elevate sales activity as investors line up for a bargain.

Wells Fargo reported record earnings of $3.8 billion for the first quarter of 2010. That's up 48 percent from the same period last year, and up 10 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010. The lender's first-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates, but the market didn't look too kindly on the underlying numbers that showed revenue was down $1.2 billion from the previous quarter. That decline included a $741 million drop in mortgage banking fee income. While revenue slipped, Wells Fargo says its numbers were boosted by improving loan quality.

State attorneys general have not only lost the collaboration of federal regulators in their effort to craft a universal settlement with servicers to resolve issues exposed by recent robo-signing investigations, but individual counsels are falling from their own ranks. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is reportedly breaking from the group to pursue his own agreement with mortgage servicers that specifically addresses his state's concerns.

Prices on commercial real estate have slipped for three consecutive months and are now dangerously close to double-dip territory due to the large share of distressed transactions recently, according to Moody's Investors Service. The agency reported Wednesday that its index of commercial property prices fell another 3.3 percent in February. The index is down 4.9 percent from 12 months earlier and only 0.8 percent above its post-peak low set in August 2010. Approximately 29 percent of the transactions tracked in February were distressed.

US Debt Ventures, a Florida-based private equity firm, recently purchased a pool of non-performing mortgages valued at $500 million from a large financial institution. Consisting of approximately 7,000 first, second, and third liens from across the nation, the purchase is part of the company's strategy to acquire and work out large portfolios of distressed mortgages.

While mortgage defaults declined in California during the first quarter of 2011, foreclosures edged up. DataQuick reports that a total of 68,239 notices of default were recorded during the period, down nearly 16 percent from a year earlier. It was the lowest period of activity for default filings in the state since the second quarter of 2007. Homes lost to foreclosure tallied 43,052 during the first three months of this year, while short sales made up an estimated 18 percent of statewide resale activity.

Real estate executive John T. Price has been named director of operations for HouseSavvy, a national online real estate resource that offers advice from industry experts to educate homebuyers, as well as sellers, about what to expect and how to prepare for transacting in today's real estate market. In this role, Price will work with HouseSavvy CEO Joe Benevides to expand the no-cost services of the online site to the national level.

On Monday, HUD launched a new campaign in Miami, Chicago, and Los Angeles called ""Know It. Avoid It. Report It."" The targeted operation aims to direct distressed homeowners to trusted resources and counselors for help to avoid foreclosure. It also solicits the support of homeowners in shutting down scammers who target the elderly, Hispanics, and African Americans.

Distressed homes - typically REOs and short sales - accounted for 40 percent of the existing homes sold in March, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Wednesday. The trade group notes that these properties generally sell at discounts in the vicinity of 20 percent. Their large market share served to dampen the median existing-home price. For all housing types, it came in at $159,600 in March, down 5.9 percent from March 2010. Overall, sales of previously owned homes rose 3.7 percent last month as the spring buying season began to take hold.