REO

Equator, a default servicing technology provider, launched a mobile web portal to offer support for on-the-road real estate agents. EQagent Mobile is the industry's first mobile servicing solution that addresses the needs of agents who are out and about.

Instead of finding clever ways to chase shadow inventory, Zillow has decided to make things easy for thrill-seeking homebuyers and investors who are trying to track down unlisted, invisible inventory. The real estate data provider announced Thursday it is providing a listing of 1.2 million pre-foreclosure and foreclosed properties at no cost. The homes provided through Zillow are not found on any Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

From the second quarter to the third quarter of this year, 62 percent of metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more saw a decrease in foreclosure activity, or 134 out of 212 metro areas. Year-over-year, foreclosure activity was down in 131 out of 212 metro areas, representing 62 percent of the metros tracked. RealtyTrac VP Daren Blomquist explained the decrease indicates ""most of the nation's housing markets are past the worst of the foreclosure problem.""

Lender Processing Services (LPS) released a new REO Web-enabled technology that offers supports for servicers as they manage and dispose REO assets.

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) filed a federal housing discrimination complaint with HUD against Bank of America, alleging discrimination in how REO properties are marketed and maintained by the bank in three metros: Chicago, Milwaukee and Indianapolis. The most recent complaint is part of an amended complaint previously filed.

PCV Murcor is unveiling its newest valuation tool to mortgage industry professionals this week at the Mortgage Bankers Association's 99th Annual Convention in Chicago. It's called Rental Broker Price Opinion (BPO)--a tiered offering that includes a BPO, automated rent estimate (ARE), and an optional reconciled broker opinion of the ARE.

While distressed sales continued to languish in California, equity sales, or non-distressed sales, firmed up and reached a four-year high in September, according to a report from the California Association of Realtors. The share of non-distressed sales in September accounted for 63 percent of all sales compared to 62.2 percent in August and 50.8 percent in September 2011, C.A.R. reported.

Home prices reached a sustainable bottom during the first quarter of this year, according to Barclays' U.S. residential credit strategy team. In many markets, longer-term affordability measures point to equilibrium, the firm's analysts contend. While the floor appears to have materialized, they stress that home prices are likely to recover slowly over the next 4 to 5 years, increasing on average 3 to 4 percent annually. At that rate, Barclays' analysts explained, home prices will remain below their 2006 pre-crisis peaks until June 2021.

The city of Reading in Pennsylvania is taking the issue of vacant properties into their own hands through a program called CORE. CORE seeks to sell government-owned abandoned properties in an effort to revitalize the community and help people in the area achieve homeownership.

The housing sector hit a speed bump in September as existing home sales dipped, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors. Existing home sales fell 1.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.75 million, the first decline in three months. The median price of an existing home was down 0.5 percent from August to $183,900, but the median price was up 11.3 percent from September 2011, the strongest year-year dollar increase since January 2006.