News

Southfield, Michigan’s Woodward Asset Capital, LLC has announced the launch of OfferSubmission.com, a proprietary web-based software program that allows mortgage asset owners to control the REO disposition process, while providing transparency for real estate agents and institutional sellers.

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, which showed that rates for fixed-rate mortgages this week lingered at their record lows and those for adjustable-rate mortgages also eased.

The U.S. Senate approved a bill this week that will give federal investigators new resources and additional funding to combat mortgage crimes and housing scams. According to officials, an estimated 5,000 new mortgage fraud cases are reported every month.

The single-family median home price in Rhode Island fell 25.9 percent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2008, according to a report released Thursday by The Warren Group, which provides real estate data for the New England area.

The government has said its Home Affordable Refinance Program will lower monthly mortgage payments for four to five million homeowners. The initiative targets those home loans that are held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the administration has expanded the eligibility pool by allowing borrowers to refinance even if they owe 5 percent more than the home’s current market value.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending April 24, 2009, which showed that despite high affordability conditions within the marketplace, the number of people applying for a home loan dropped significantly last week.

Sales of single-family homes in Massachusetts during the first quarter dropped nearly 11 percent, according to a market report released Wednesday by the Boston-based research firm The Warren Group. During the first three months of the year, the company said 6,160 homes were sold in the Bay State, down from 6,912 for the same period last year.

Green Tree Servicing LLC, of St. Paul, Minnesota, has joined the growing list of mortgage companies officially under contract to provide federal loan modifications through the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program.

The Treasury Department announced on Wednesday that it has received more than 100 applications from companies interested in serving as fund managers for the legacy securities portion of its Public Private Investment Program (PPIP).

The May 1 deadline for the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC) is rapidly approaching. Beginning Friday, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will refuse to purchase mortgages that do not comply with the HVCC regulations for property appraisals.