REO

In June, an increase in the sale of REO properties drove down the CMBS delinquency rate, bringing it to a three-year low, Fitch Ratings reported. At 7.18 percent, the CMBS delinquency rate fell 19 basis points (bps) from the month before in May and is at its lowest level since March 2010. ""The CMBS delinquency rate is likely to improve further in the coming months as other large REO properties are sold, including a slew from ORIX's portfolio,"" said Scott Pritchard, director at Fitch.

Foreclosure activity was sluggish in June, dipping 14 percent from May and falling 35 percent from a year ago, according to RealtyTrac's most recent foreclosure report. With 127,790 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in June, RealtyTrac also revealed foreclosure activity is down to the lowest level since December 2006. Foreclosure starts also experienced a dramatic fall, decreasing 45 percent year-over-year in June to the lowest level since December 2005. While foreclosure activity dropped, foreclosure auctions in judicial states jumped 34 percent compared to a year ago.

Fewer than 2 million homes remain in shadow inventory as of April, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. This puts shadow inventory at a supply of 5.3 months and represents an 18 percent year-over-year decrease. The data provider also reported shadow inventory is 34 percent lower than the 2010 peak of 3 million. Currently, serious delinquencies make up the bulk of shadow inventory. Out of the total for shadow inventory, about 890,000 are serious delinquencies.

The number of job openings edged up in May, increasing for the for the first time since February as hirings continued to improve, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Tuesday in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). According to the JOLTS, report, the number of persons unemployed for each job opening in May remained at April's level of 3.07 but was down from 3.09 in February.

Low inventories driven by reluctant sellers, high levels of underwater homeowners, and meager rates of new construction have all played a role in driving home prices upward of late, Radar Logic explains in its RPX Monthly Housing Market Report for April. As of April 2013, the analytics firm's 25-metropolitan-area composite averaged $205.46 per square foot, up 13.1 percent year-over-year and up 2.7 percent month-over-month. This translates into a gain of 23.7 percent from the January 2012 low of $169.62. Prices though are still 26.2 percent below the June 2007 peak.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell for the fourth time in the last five weeks, dropping 5,000 to 343,000 for week ending June 29, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Economists expected 345,000 claims. Claims filings for the week ending June 22 were revised up to 348,000 from the originally reported 346,000.

So far, efforts from the GSEs have led to nearly 2.8 million foreclosure prevention actions since the start of the September 2008 conservatorship, the FHFA reported Monday. The agency also found the serious delinquency rate for GSE borrowers decreased to 3 percent compared to 8 percent for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. However, more than half of the GSEs' seriously delinquent borrowers were past due by at least a year in the first quarter.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance dropped 9,000 to 346,000 for week ended June 22, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 345,000 claims. Claims filings for the week ended June 15 were revised up to 355,000 from the originally reported 354,000.

As prices rise, investors are having a harder time justifying housing market purchases, according to a recent Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking survey. In May, the share of home purchases from investors fell to the lowest level in more than three years, dropping to 20.2 percent from 22 percent in April, according to the survey.

National home prices, along with the 20 largest states, posted positive monthly and yearly gains in April, according to Lender Processing Services (LPS). LPS' Home Price Index (HPI) found prices in April stood at $217,000, up by 1.5 percent from March and up 8.1 percent from a year ago. The national HPI is still 18.2 percent below its June 2006 peak, when the index averaged $265,000. For the second straight month, all 20 of the largest states tracked by LPS saw positive month-over-month growth.