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LPS Study Finds Pace of Delinquencies Is Slowing

While delinquency rates in the United States continue to reach new highs, the pace of deterioration has slowed, Lender Processing Services (LPS) said Monday. Still, company's analysts caution that the nation's housing market remains far from a full recovery. According to LPS' latest Mortgage Monitor report, nearly 7.5 million loans are in some stage of delinquency or foreclosure, with an additional one million properties in REO or post-sale foreclosure.

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Housing Doesn’t Fare Well in John Burns Report Card

By grade school standards, the U.S. housing market would most likely get grounded, according to John Burns Real Estate Consulting's (JBREC) monthly report card issued this week. The market research and due diligence firm gave housing an overall grade of D+. Affordability, which the firm says is probably the most important indicator of short-term housing market performance, was able to pull out a C-, but the nation's housing supply got an F.

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REOs and Short Sales Account for 50% of California Home Sales

Foreclosed homes taken back by lenders and distressed short sales accounted for nearly half of all residential home sales in California in 2009, according to a market report released this week by the California Association of Realtors. As one of the hardest-hit states by the housing downturn, the Golden State is littered with bank-owned properties and homes facing foreclosure, but the lower prices and increasing buyer appetite for these deals are helping to reduce some of California's distressed inventory.

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DocuTech Sees Success in 2009

Despite the continued struggles of the housing and mortgage markets, Idaho Falls, Idaho-based DocuTech Corp. finished 2009 with an increase in market penetration of more than 140 percent, the company announced Thursday. The mortgage document compliance company added 84 new customers last year and forged key partnership with loan origination software (LOS) providers to ensure a seamless connection with loan data and loan documents.

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Citigroup Sells Real Estate Investment Unit

The beleaguered Citigroup Inc., who has repeatedly assured administration officials that it is getting back to banking basics, has found a buyer for its real estate investment business. Private equity firm Apollo Management LP has agreed to purchase Citi Property Investors, a unit of the bank's Citi Alternative Investments group.

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Minority Real Estate Groups Introduce Plan to Address Housing Crisis

During the 2010 Multicultural Real Estate & Policy Conference last week in Washington D.C., the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), the Asian Real Estate Association of America(AREAA), and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) introduced The Five-Point Plan: Creating a Sustainable Path to Minority Homeownership.

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FHA Changes Should be Approached With Caution: NAR

In testimony before a House subcommittee Thursday, Charles McMillan, immediate past president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), said the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) remains financially strong because it has taken steps to ensure solid underwriting standards and responsible lending practices.

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Servicers Complete 170,000 Permanent HAMP Mods

It's been a year since the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was implemented and only 170,000 troubled homeowners have received permanent loan restructurings. The number of modifications in the permanent column did increase 45 percent from 116,297 in January, but it's still a mere drop in the bucket when you consider the Treasury's own estimate that there are currently 1.8 million borrowers who are behind on their payments and eligible for the program.

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Fitch Sees Greater Stability for RMBS…When Drought Ends

More traditionally underwritten and higher credit quality loans will be the norm when the U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market for newly-originated loans re-opens, according to Fitch Ratings. The agency says investors can expect better performance because lenders are returning to a more traditional style of lending, with loans containing better credit, full documentation, and less leverage.

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