News

The November home market report from Clear Capital shows that prices nationally fell another 5.8 percent over the previous three months. The company says although the pace of decline has slowed, home prices show no signs of bottoming out yet. Thirteen of the 50 major metros in the study have already entered into double-dip territory, indicating that their current price levels are the lowest since the housing downturn began. Among them are Vegas, Seattle, Tucson, Philadelphia, and several major Florida markets.

Pegasystems Inc, a provider of customer relationship management solutions, has launched a new pre-foreclosure solution that allows mortgage servicers to implement regulatory quality controls before foreclosure. The timing of the product roll-out couldn't be more apt, considering the uncertainty now surrounding foreclosure documentation and servicing procedures due to the recent robo-signing fiasco.

A new report from ZipRealty shows the supply of homes for sale in November declined by an average of 3.8 percent in 26 major metropolitan areas that the company researched. The largest inventory declines were seen in Austin, Texas, where the for-sale supply fell 9.5 percent, and Boston, Massachusetts, down 10 percent. The company says declines could be indicative of sellers deciding to take their homes off the market, and could also be a result of foreclosure moratoriums.

Mortgage interest rates rose again this week, marking the fourth consecutive increase. Freddie Mac says the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has jumped to 4.61 percent, up from 4.46 percent just one week earlier. If such sharp increments continue at this pace, the 30-year rate could rise above where it was a full year ago (4.81 percent) in a matter of mere weeks. For a $200,000 conventional loan, the sudden rise amounts to $50 more in monthly payments than if buyers had locked in rates just two months ago.

In order to deal with the influx of loan modifications that many banks are dealing with, Bank of America Home Loans has made the decision to move some of its mortgage loan originators and other staff to the loan modification department. The company plans on shifting around 2,500 employees to the modification side, where they will remain for at least the majority of 2011. That will bring the bank's team of home retention professionals to nearly 30,000.

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P. (HFF), a provider of real estate and capital markets services to the U.S. commercial real estate industry, announced the addition of Holden Lim as its new managing director in San Francisco. With more than 20 years' experience in the hospitality sector, Lim will focus on institutional grade hotel and resort property transactions throughout North America.

According to a survey of 3,000 consumers conducted by Fiserv, Inc. 11 percent of online consumers are currently connected with their banks or credit unions through social media. The survey also revealed that 36 percent of those not connected are interested in doing so. consumers who connect to their financial institution via social media and consumers who are interested in connecting are already devoted to their bank or credit union and use an average of 5.4 banking services.

According to analysis from the research firm Zillow, U.S. homes are expected to lose more than $1.7 trillion in value this year. Since the market peaked in June 2006, the company says homeowners have been stripped of $9 trillion in equity. To put things into perspective, Zillow cites a report by the Congressional Research Service, which says from 2001 to September 2010, the war in Iraq has cost the United States $750.8 billion. That means the value lost in residential property values since mid-2006 exceeds the cost of 12 Iraq wars.

With property values still tumbling, it's no surprise that nearly a quarter of the nation's mortgage borrowers owe more than their home is worth. Industry studies support the consensus that the farther a borrower sinks into negative equity, the more likely they are to throw in the towel. The severity of this catch-22 is now top-of-mind for government officials. The administration is reportedly pressuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make principal write-downs a key component of their foreclosure prevention efforts.

On Wednesday the House Republican Conference elected Rep. Spencer Bachus, (R- Alabama), to serve as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee for the 112th Congress. Bachus will replace Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) as chairman when Congress convenes in January.