REO

The percentage of home loans making their way through the foreclosure process jumped to a new record high during the first quarter of 2010, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Wednesday. Despite the industry's, and the government's, all-out attack on the nation's foreclosure problem, MBA's regular quarterly study showed that 4.63 percent of outstanding mortgages were in foreclosure at the end of March. Another 10.06 percent were past due.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan is asking Congress to release additional funds to help communities combat the ongoing effects of the housing crisis and home foreclosures. He says the Obama administration is committed to working with lawmakers to secure a third round of funding for HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). The federal agency has disbursed $6 billion through NSP to help local governments and non-profit developers buy and rehabilitate or demolish vacant and foreclosed homes in their communities.

The LAMCOnetwork, an REO vendor database provided by Lenders Asset Management Company, announced Monday that it will be hosting a members-only live and interactive ""Ask the Expert!"" Webinar on May 21st at 10:00 a.m. (PST). The Webinar will feature the company's CEO Brandon Hawkes and EVP Dan Reynolds, who will provide network members with an executive-level view of the distressed asset world and tips on how to increase their business.

Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Williams & Williams Worldwide Real Estate Auction announced the launch of a new proprietary index last week that tracks actual results derived from the company's monthly auction performance data. Williams & Williams says the combination of this tracking system and the company's own pricing models for residential and commercial real estate allow it to provide clients with a 30- to 90-day advanced view of real estate market performance.

Analysts at Barclays Capital say the industry's ominous shadow inventory is close to topping out. New research published by the firm says the supply of homes nearing REO status, defined as 90 or more days delinquent or in the process of foreclosure, will peak this summer and then begin falling gradually as the market becomes stable enough to absorb 130,000 distressed properties a month. Barclays puts the shadow supply at 4.5 million properties, but forecasts at least 4.7 million distressed sales over the next three years.

One in every 387 homes in the United States was in some stage of foreclosure last month, RealtyTrac reported Thursday. The company's data shows that foreclosure filings were issued on 333,837 properties in April. While still elevated, that figure represents a 9 percent drop from the previous month and a 2 percent decline compared to a year ago. It's the only month in the history of RealtyTrac's report where foreclosure activity fell on an annual basis.

Titanium Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Titanium Solutions, Inc. and Excellen REO, has expanded its presence into Puerto Rico with the launch of Titanium Loan Servicing of Puerto Rico. Titanium Loan Servicing PR is a full service loss mitigation, home retention, short sale services, and REO provider servicing the island's mortgage market.

Foreclosure filings in California were down in April for the first time since the beginning of the year, ForeclosureRadar reported Tuesday. Last month, the locally-based company tracked a total of 58,410 notices of default and trustee sale in the Golden State. Default notices fell 16 percent compared to March, while sale notices dropped 10 percent. ForeclosureRadar's market data shows that banks added 14,517 foreclosed California properties to their REO inventories in April. The company puts the total REO supply in the state at 90,295 properties.

A recent study by Barclays Capital says that U.S. lenders are holding fewer foreclosed homes than previously assessed by the firm. Some are viewing the revised estimate as a testament to the stability that is taking hold in the housing market, but Barclays warns that the industry should expect REO inventories to grow - albeit gradually - over the next couple of years, as banks push more properties through the pipeline and foreclosure alternatives are exhausted. Barclays estimates that as of the end of February, 480,000 repossessed homes were held by U.S. lenders, mortgage investors, and the GSEs.

QualityFirst Real Estate, a San Diego-based real estate company specializing in REO properties, recently launched a new company Web site, providing real world expertise regarding short sales and foreclosure sales to homebuyers, buyers, and the lending community. Through this new site, buyers looking for great opportunities on a home can directly access QualityFirst's online listings of bank-owned homes for sale, the company said. And buyers looking for a home loan can take advantage of the site's mortgage information and loan calculator pages.