REO

Average mortgage rates were relatively unchanged this week amid mixed economic and consumer sentiment reports, according to Freddie Mac. Adjustable mortgage rates were mixed while fixed mortgage rates held steady remaining near their 60-year lows. The GSE's study puts the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 4.11 percent, down slightly from 4.12 percent last week. The 15-year fixed rate rose one basis point to 3.38 percent.

Foreigners may get an added bonus when they invest in residential real estate in the United States - a visa. Senators from New York and Utah are proposing a bill that would offer residence visas to foreigners when they spend at least $500,000 in the U.S. residential real estate market. Investors may split their spending between two or more properties, as long as they spend at least $250,000 on one home and $500,000 or more total. Economists say low prices resulting from high levels of foreclosures in some states have served to entice foreign buyers.

Sales of previously owned homes slipped 3 percent between August and September, according to data released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Thursday. That follows a jump of nearly 19 percent between July and August. The decline was widely expected as sales activity follows the typical seasonal cycle and heads lower with the mercury in the thermometer. Distressed homes accounted for 30 percent of sales in September. Eighteen percent were foreclosed homes and 12 percent were pre-foreclosure short sales.

A Massachusetts man lost something he never had -- his home. The Masachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week that when Francis Bevilacqua purchased the home from U.S. Bank in 2006, the bank did not actually hold the home's title. The court ruled that because U.S. bank did not own the mortgage when it foreclosed upon the property, it did not obtain a title in the foreclosure. Therefore, Bevilacqua did not purchase a legal title when he made the purchase.

The Federal Reserve released a new rendition of its market-gauging Beige Book Wednesday, which provides an assessment of regional conditions from those outside the Fed system and in the field. Reports from the 12 districts indicate that overall economic activity continued to expand in September. On the real estate front, though, home sales remained weak with prices either flat or declining across the entire country. Although commercial construction increased at a slow pace, that sector too was described as ""weak.""

The foreclosure tide has yet to ebb, and the massive supply of bank-owned homes building over the last half-decade has taken its toll on market fundamentals. What's become of all those properties seized by banks? CoreLogic delved into the stats to find out. Looking at the outcomes of 355,000 properties foreclosed on in 2006, the company found that 105,000 were liquidated as REO sales to third-party buyers in six months or less, while more than 20,000 remain part of the industry's REO inventory.

Republican members of the House Financial Services Committee point to the GSEs and the Obama administration's housing programs as areas for Congress' deficit reduction super-committee to examine as it works toward cutting $1.5 trillion of the nation's debt. A letter drafted by Chairman Spencer Bachus and signed by 20 Republican committee members first calls for an increase in the GSEs' guarantee fees and then the elimination of such programs as HAMP and HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

InHouse, Inc., a provider of appraisal management services, has announced the promotion of Jennifer Creech to CEO and president. Creech had been serving as the president of InHouse since 2010. In the CEO role, she replaces Tim Ngyuen, who is now focusing his efforts solely on business development for InHouse. Since joining the company in 2009, Creech has leveraged her 20 years of senior management experience in mortgage lending to help fuel the company's growth.

The analysts at Barclays Capital say a ""triple-dip"" in home prices will likely materialize by early next year. The term ""triple-dip"" emerged in a Clear Capital report a couple of weeks ago, and Barclays says its analysis corroborates the idea. The research firm warns that home prices will likely slip another 6 to 7 percent over the coming winter months. That would put median prices at a new low for this cycle, in fact 3 percent below the double-dip measurement of last spring.

Williams Title Guaranty and Escrow Agency, Ltd., has entered a five-year contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Williams Title provides title insurance and escrow services on lender-owned REO properties, meeting the needs of lenders, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, and REO asset managers. As a designated HUD closing agent, Williams Title Guaranty will complete HUD closings for the entire state of Colorado.