REO

For the month of April, Massachusetts foreclosure activity remained at levels dramatically below those recorded last year, according to data released this week by the Warren Group in Boston. However foreclosure petitions, which mark the first step in the foreclosure process in the Bay State, posted their highest number so far this year.

California's Inland Empire Economic Recovery Corporation (IEERC) recently announced it will receive a $1 million grant from HUD. The non-profit, which works to stabilize real estate values in distressed neighborhoods, will use the grant to purchase and rehabilitate foreclosed properties. IEERC recently made its first offer to purchase 34 foreclosed houses from Fannie Mae.

According to the Orlando Regional Realtor Association (ORRA), the Florida city's once-monolithic housing inventory was down to 11,480 homes available for purchase last month, a level not seen since 2005. Foreclosures and short sales represented a lion's share 65.49 percent of all home sales in April, although that figure is down 5 percent from March.

Foreclosure activity slowed in April in states along the country's West Coast, but a local firm that tracks every foreclosure action in the area is having trouble making sense of what it says is an unexpected trend. According to ForeclosureRadar, filings last month were down in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Washington. Cancellations were up significantly across the board, leaving fewer properties scheduled for trustee sale. ForeclosureRadar says banks have had time to resolve robo-signing issues, so we should be seeing exactly the opposite results.

Mortgage Contracting Services LLC (MCS) announced Tuesday the addition of Charles Mangan as assistant vice president of operations. Working out of the Dallas office, Mangan will oversee property preservation activity of the company's REO clients and contribute to MCS' overall strategy for preserving the country's communities while also minimizing servicers' risks and costs to do so, according to a statement from the firm.

RealtyTrac recently integrated the property-rating system HomeScore on nearly 2 million foreclosure and for-sale properties on its Web site. Created by SmartZip Analytics, HomeScore is designed to allow users to pinpoint properties with the best potential for appreciation over time. The higher the HomeScore rating, the greater the home's investment potential. While properties scored above 50 are expected to outperform the market, those scored below 50 are expected to underperform.

Freddie Mac announced Monday the launch of a nationwide sales promotion for its inventory of foreclosed homes. Selling agents will receive a bonus of $1,200 for initial offers received between May 16th and July 31st with escrows closed on or before the final day of September. The extra incentive applies to Freddie Mac's HomeSteps properties sold to owner-occupant buyers. As of the end of the first quarter, Freddie Mac held 65,174 REO homes.

The Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled that MERS does not meet the requirements under state statute to foreclose by advertisement because the company does not own any interest in the debt. The judgment does not apply to judicial foreclosures conducted by MERS, but observers warn the decision could void thousands of foreclosures in the state, including properties that have already been sold to new buyers. Local reports say title companies are canceling closings on some bank-owned homes in light of the ruling.

Sales of previously owned homes - which in recent months have been buoyed by a growing share of distressed REO and short sales - are expected to remain on an upward, albeit uneven, track through this year and next, according to economists at the National Association of Realtors' midyear meeting. Lawrence Yun says if the first-quarter sales pace holds, the year will close with 5.1 million completed transactions, 4 percent above last year. Frank Nothaft expects the increase to be at least that much, perhaps a bit higher.

The city of Chicago is working to alleviate the impact of vacant foreclosure properties on its neighborhoods with a new program that has garnered participation from major mortgage servicers and local law firms. Bank of America has agreed to identify and register with the city 150 vacant properties in default under the Cook County ""Vacant and Abandoned Building Court Call."" The program will move empty homes through the foreclosure process more quickly in order to return them to viable housing or make way for new uses of the land.