REO

The information technology company Dhandhania Infotech (DhanInfo) is expanding its business process outsourcing (BPO) operations to meet growing demand from U.S. customers for its real estate- and mortgage-related services. The India-based company assists corporations with staff-centric tasks such as property preservation data entry, real estate virtual assistants, and search engine optimization for Internet marketing.

Trulia, an online marketplace for homebuyers, sellers, and real estate professionals, announced it is now an industry partner for the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), a nonprofit group dedicated to standardizing real estate data in order to promote accuracy and consistency within the industry. The company's own VP of industry services, Alon Chaver, has joined RESO's board of directors, effective January 1.

Effective January 1, Ken P. Wilson, MAI, SRA, will take over as president of the Appraisal Institute, the group announced. Wilson, a valuation professional and consultant based in Plano, Texas, has been involved in the industry for 35 years.

Looking at ongoing trends, Zillow made four major predictions about the course of housing over 2014, and while the company expects conditions next year to be a bit friendlier to homebuyers, that doesn't mean we'll necessarily see more owner-occupied housing. Zillow also combined data on unemployment, population growth, and its own Home Value Forecast to glimpse into what it believes will be the hottest markets in 2014.

The veterans of this business can remember when REOs ran in the neighborhood of 150,000 a year, delinquency rates were just around 4 percent, and you only needed a credit score of 620 to qualify for a prime mortgage loan. But the housing finance industry, and default servicing especially, has changed. In the cover story of it's September issue, DS News looks at the many factors--from a slew of new regulatory mandates to an altered public perception of debt obligations--that have altered the business into something far from customary.

Many economists and market observers have suggested the market is poised for continued growth as the recovery enters its third year, and there are positive elements in play that provide some reasons for optimism. Recent loan vintages continue to perform at levels better than historical norms, which has allowed the industry to work through its backlog of distressed assets; foreclosure activity is declining; and housing starts have begun to rise.

With fewer properties entering the foreclosure process and more delinquent borrowers avoiding foreclosure, the number of foreclosed single-family homes held by lenders and government agencies has rapidly declined. In the April issue of DS News magazine, contributing writer Keith Button explored the many market drivers taking their toll on the once-strong stock of bank-owned homes.

The National Association of Realtors recently released the results of a national survey conducted in July 2013 among homebuyers who had made their purchase within the previous year. The data collected brings fresh insights into all phases of the homebuying process and helps recognize emerging trends to help real estate professionals understand the needs and expectations of their clients. What did the study uncover?

In a commentary shared with DSNews.com, Peter Muoio, chief economist for Auction.com Research, revealed the company's predictions for 2014. Muoio says the housing recovery will get its second wind next year, the Federal Reserve's tapering of stimulus measures will extend for a longer period that most analysts are expecting, REO-to-rental will cool off, and the Canadian housing bubble will come closer to bursting.

Existing-home sales dipped on both a monthly and annual basis in November, marking the first year-over-year decline in sales in nearly two and a half years. Hurt by higher mortgage interest rates, constrained inventory, and tight credit, sales of previously owned homes came in at an annualized rate of 4.90 million last month, the National Association of Realtors reported.