News

Consumer interest in buying homes and absorption of today's bloated housing supply are critical to recovery. These market fundamentals, though, are moving farther out of reach as the American Dream of homeownership fades into the background for many. A new study from real estate data provider Trulia found that one out of four renters do not plan on buying a home -- ever. Of those renters who do see a home purchase in their future, 68 percent said it would be more than two years before they make that investment.

Mortgage rates are hitting record lows, but some fees associated with buying a home are getting higher. According to Bankrate.com's annual survey of closing costs, origination and third-party fees on a $200,000 mortgage are now averaging $3,741. This marks a 36.6 percent increase over 2009's average. New York and Texas claim the nation's highest closing costs, while Arkansas is the least expensive state.

Private investment firm Blue Horizon Capital has acquired California-based Veri-tax LLC. A provider of tax verification and fraud management solutions for the mortgage lending and consumer credit industry, Veri-tax clients include two of the nation's top four banks, as well as a slew of other lenders, originators, and financial institutions. The acquisition is expected to support the company's growth and the expansion of its fraud detection, management, and mitigation services.

The lowest mortgage interest rates in more than a half century have kindled a rise in refinancing activity among homeowners looking to reduce their debt and lower monthly payments. The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday that its index for refinance applications jumped 17.1 percent last week, hitting its highest mark since May of last year. For the past two months, refinancing has accounted for more than 80 percent of conventional loan applications.

San Diego-based New Vista Asset Management, a nationwide provider of REO asset management services, announced Tuesday that foreclosure industry veteran Ivan Choi is the company's new national default sales executive. Choi has 15 years' experience in the foreclosure and mortgage banking market. He previously held executive positions with Prospect Mortgage and Bank of America.

Loan Value Group recently announced that its Responsible Homeowner Reward (RH Reward) program has been included as an alternative resource in Ohio's Hardest Hit Fund (HHF) plan for homeowners who are underwater on their mortgage but may not qualify for the official state-run programs. The RH Reward program provides cash incentives to homeowners who remain current on their mortgages, and Ohio says it is a valuable incentive to deter strategic default and even reduce principal for some borrowers with negative equity.

The national mortgage delinquency rate - measuring the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days behind on their payments - fell again in the second quarter of 2010, suggesting credit conditions in the housing sector have begun to stabilize, according to TransUnion. Data released Tuesday by the credit bureau show that the national delinquency rate dropped to 6.67 percent in Q2. That's down from 6.77 percent during the previous three-month period, which marked the first time in 12 quarters that TransUnion recorded a decline in mortgage delinquencies.

Mortgage Cadence, a provider of enterprise lending solutions, loss mitigation technology, and document services, has announced that private equity firm Monitor Clipper Partners has invested in the company. This alliance will provide capital to expand Mortgage Cadence's product and service offerings. The company says it expects the venture to enable continued growth and service to a wide range of market participants.

Will Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac still be here in three years? Or will they be replaced by a new federal mortgage agency? Or will the government begin a grand exodus from the housing market and leave the conveyance of the American Dream to the private sector? These were the questions addressed Tuesday at the administration's housing finance conference in Washington - a discussion that the Treasury says will help shape its proposal for the future of the housing finance system, including the structure of the nation's two largest mortgage companies.

Transaction prices of commercial properties sold by major institutional investors surged over 17 percent in the second quarter of 2010, according to an index developed by the Center for Real Estate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The researchers say the price gauge's bounce is near a record high, but they caution that the data is laden with mixed signals, particularly since transaction volume was down for the second month in a row and remains at a very low level by historical standards.