REO

The share of distressed properties is shrinking and home prices are rising, but first-time homebuyers aren't benefiting from the improvements, according to findings from a survey. In the most recent Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulseTracking survey, the first-time homebuyer share for home purchases was found to be 34.7 percent in October. The figure is a decrease from 37.1 percent in June and the lowest share in the survey's three-year history. The decrease coincides with a significant rise in purchases for non-distressed properties.

After suddenly jumping 7.7 percent in September, the nation's delinquency rate fell in October, according to first look data from Lender Processing Services (LPS). The delinquency rate stood at 7.03 percent in October, a decrease of 4.91 percent from September and 7.19 percent from last year. Historically, LPS says the delinquency rate is actually expected to tick up in October due to seasonal effects. Overall, the number of properties 30 days or more past due or in foreclosure numbered 5.3 million.

A specific provision in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) was amended to extend protections for military members with mortgage obligations, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced.

October marks the 12th consecutive month of monthly home value increases, according to Zillow, which reported a 1.1 percent increase over the month. Home values were up even higher on an annual basis, climbing 4.7 percent over the year and representing the greatest increase since September 2006. Chicago was the only one of the 30 largest metro areas Zillow measures to experience a monthly decline in home values in October.

Forty-one state attorneys general signed a letter Tuesday urging U.S. House and Senate leaders to extend the expiring Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007. The attorneys general argued failure to extend the act would take away from the national mortgage settlement. ""Requiring a homeowner to pay income tax on forgiven or canceled mortgage debt would make the National Mortgage Settlement much less effective,"" the letter states. The act, which is set to expire December 31, 2012, allows taxpayers to be excluded from paying taxes on forgiven debt from a foreclosure, short sale, or loan modification.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a complaint was filed Tuesday against Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC and its affiliates for allegedly misrepresenting residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) sold to investors. The complaint is the result of investigations carried out by the RMBS Working Group. The investigations were based on practices from 2006 to 2007, and the group alleges Credit Suisse issued $93.8 billion in RMBS during that time. By mid-2012, losses from those securities reached over $11.2 billion, or 12 percent of the total.

Since 2011 when Treasury required the largest servicers to develop a single point of contact (SPOC) for all homeowners working through loss mitigation as part of the Making Home Affordable program, servicers have begun to implement the new standard in various ways. The Treasury noted in a recent report the nine largest servicers participating in the program have implemented three different SPOC models. In total, the nine servicers Treasury observed have increased staffing and now have 12,000 SPOCs working to communicate with homeowners.

Agents who initiate a short sale without an offer and participate in the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) or the bank's Cooperative Short Sale program can submit documents using an electronic signature, the bank explained.

Five mortgage servicers--Bank of America, Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, and Ally--have provided over 300,000 borrowers with some form of mortgage relief as part of a settlement agreement, according to a report from settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr. As of September 30, 2012, the banks reported they have provided $26.1 billion in actual consumer relief. Short sales accounted for $13.13 billion of that amount. Part of the settlement agreement requires the banks to provide $20 billion in relief, but the servicers are not always credited on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Weathering Hurricane Sandy, sales of existing-homes increased in October, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Monday. Total existing-home sales rose 2.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.79 million in October from a downwardly revised 4.69 million in September. September sales were originally reported at 4.75 million. October home sale are up 10.9 percent over October 2011. The median price of an existing single family home was $178,600 in October, up from a downwardly revised $178,300 in September (originally $183,900) and 11.1 percent ahead of the median price in October 2011, $160,300.