News

The number of vacant residential properties for sale inched up to 2.23 million units in the third quarter of 2008 from 2.1 million units in the second quarter, according to a Census Bureau report released last week.

The Federal Reserve released its quarterly survey on lending practices yesterday, and it showed that 95 percent of banks have tightened their lending standards on at least some forms of loans. The survey of 55 domestic banks and 21 U.

Fidelity National Real Estate Solutions, a division of Fidelity National Financial Inc., a Fortune 500 provider of products, services, and technology solutions to the financial and real estate industries, is now offering its MLS customers reInsight Data, a new open architecture data sharing solution, the company announced yesterday.

One third of all subprime loans modified in the third quarter of 2007 were delinquent again within 10 months, according to a Credit Suisse report. A study by Moody’s ratings agency showed similar results.

The White House has said it is currently reviewing several foreclosure prevention programs, but reportedly has major drawbacks to the national loan modification program that Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), has submitted.

Bankers Real Estate Services (BRES) Advisors Inc., a California analytics and transaction execution company, has introduced an evaluation product to the real estate owned (REO) market that determines the properties’ end game, the company said in a press statement.

Months of government bailouts and stock market volatility brought Americans’ perception of the values of their own homes closer to reality than it was last quarter, but surprisingly half of U.S. homeowners still believe their home is insulated from the nation’s home value declines, according to the Zillow Q3 Homeowner Confidence Survey.

Chase, the U.S. consumer and commercial banking arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co., announced on Friday that it is xexpanding its already significant mortgage modification program by undertaking multiple initiatives designed to keep more families in their homes, including extending its modification programs to WaMu and EMC customers,x the bank said in a press statement.

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), a reduction, or a government buy-down, of mortgage interest rates by just one percentage point could result in up to 840,000 additional home sales and reduce the inventory of homes by as much as 20 percent.

More appraisers are using technology to fulfill appraisal orders, according to a recent survey conducted by ValuFinders Inc., a provider of valuation services to national lenders, brokers, and government agencies.