REO

There are 7,043,000 mortgages in the United States that are at least 30 days past due or in the process of foreclosure, according to Lender Processing Services (LPS). The company provided a sneak peek at its October month-end mortgage performance data this week. The numbers show the delinquency rate was virtually unchanged from the previous month's reading, but foreclosures are on the rise. LPS says nearly four percent of the nation's home loans have been referred to an attorney for foreclosure.

iServe Servicing, Inc., a residential mortgage special servicer of performing, sub-performing, nonperforming, and bank-owned assets, announced Monday that it has integrated its business operations with iServe Real Estate Operations Inc. (iServe REO). The combined business unit will maintain the iServe Servicing title and be led by current iServe Servicing CEO Richard Cimino.

Default Servicing Technologies LLC (DST) has announced the launch of a new Closing Company portal, which the company says will improve how closing companies interact with clients through DispoSolutions, DST's REO management platform. According to DST, the new, flexible _Closing Company_ interface simplifies workflow and provides closing firms with real-time communication, document management, notes, title information, contact lists, escrow directions, and HUD contract sell-side details.

Green River Capital (GRC), an REO asset management and loss mitigation provider for mortgage servicers, investment firms, and banking institutions, has named Joseph D'Urso company president. D'Urso brings more than 20 years of financial industry experience to the company. He is the former CEO of GC Mortgage Advisors LLC, was also head of the residential loan businesses at Merrill Lynch, and spent a decade with Goldman Sachs in various roles.

Home prices dropped in 76 of the 155 metropolitan areas tracked by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) during the third quarter, following a sharp decline in sales after the federal government's homebuyer tax credit passed. Seventy-seven metro areas held their ground in the post-credit months and recorded higher median prices on existing homes compared to a year ago. NAR points to the numbers as improvement, considering only 30 metros experienced annual price gains this time last year.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 332,172 properties during the month of October, according to data released by RealtyTrac Thursday. That tally represents a 4 percent decrease from the previous month. RealtyTrac says the numbers probably would have been higher except for the fallout from the recent robo-signing controversy, which may result in further declines in November. Lenders seized 9 percent fewer homes last month than they did in September, before foreclosures were frozen in certain states.

Inventories of homes listed for sale are dwindling across the country, in some markets, significantly, according to Altos Research. Of the 26 major markets the company tracks, only three showed increases in inventory during the month of October - Las Vegas, Phoenix, and San Diego - and Altos described their increases as ""slight."" Washington, D.C. had the biggest decline in its supply of listed homes. While, typically, decreases in inventory are evidence of a leveling off, Altos says the potential impact of the so-called shadow inventory looms large.

Default Resource has developed a new report that will inspect and oversee work performed by REO and short sale listing agents. The company sends out independent inspectors to listed REO homes to check that the home is properly maintained, has a lockbox in place, is listed correctly in the MLS, and to detail any hazardous conditions on the property. Default Resource says it allows servicers or investors to know at a glance how their real estate sales partners are performing.

Residential property values fell 0.2 percent at the national level during the third quarter, according to Integrated Asset Services (IAS). In front of a seasonal slow-down in home sales, IAS says the data foreshadow ""particularly difficult times ahead"" for the housing market and for the U.S. economy. The company's report confirms that the nation's most devastated counties are showing no signs of bottoming. The robo-signing controversy is expected to slow the housing correction even further as banks hold back foreclosures.

At the 2010 Realtors Conference, real estate professionals were cautiously optimistic about the current and future state of the industry. Most agreed that the rise in home sales and prices during the boom was both unrealistic and unsustainable. Today, the industry has returned to a more sound and balanced idea of homeownership. But current conditions mandate agents educate themselves about buying and selling distressed properties and working with investor buyers, particularly when it comes to handling short sales.