REO

Personal income rose $42.3 billion in July but consumer spending increased $46.0 billion, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Thursday. The increase in income 0.3 percent topped expectations of a 0.3 percent boost, and the 0.04 percent increase in spending also met economist expectations.

First time claims for unemployment were unchanged at 374,000 for the week ended August 25, the Labor Department reported Thursday after revising upward by 2,000 the prior week's originally reported 372,000 claims. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 370,000 initial claims.

Micoley.com will host an online auction on September 15 to sell off 45 properties based throughout Illinois, Mississippi, and Wisconsin

According to Radar Logic's RPX Monthly Housing Market Report for June, sales of homes at foreclosure auctions and REO sales by financial institutions fell to their lowest share of sales since 2008. The fall in distressed sales led to an overall year-over-year gain in the RPX Composite price, which measures statistics in 25 metropolitan areas. However, Radar Logic warned that price gains made in the first half of the year may not last.

The number of completed foreclosures saw declines both monthly and yearly, according to CoreLogic's most recent foreclosure report. In July, 58,000 homes were lost to the foreclosure process compared to 69,000 in July 2011 and 62,000 the month before in June. Five states accounted for nearly half (48.1 percent) of all completed foreclosures over a one year period ending in July 2012. Those states were California (118,000), Florida (92,000), Michigan (61,000), Texas (57,000), and Georgia (54,000).

Home prices rose 6.9 percent in the second quarter, according to the Case-Shiller Index compiled by Standard

The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) is not the only state-specific realtor group to be suspicious of FHFA's REO-to-rental initiative involving the bulk sale of REO inventory to institutional investors. The Florida Realtors stated that it has ""expressed concerns to The National Association of Realtors (NAR) about the issue and is requesting member feedback on how the FHFA bulk sales issue affects the Florida market.""

A surplus of REO inventory from financial institutions, demand for single-family rentals, tight lending standards - these are just a few reasons interest has developed for securities backed by cash flows from single-family rental properties. While interest has formed for good reasons, there are still risks involved. In a recent report, Moody's Investors Service highlighted two key factors that can be used to determine credit risk for such transactions: Performance of an operator or manager and the variability of the cash flow from rentals and property dispositions.

USRES, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary, RES.NET, announced the addition of Angela Hurst to its executive team.

Lack of inventory continues to stunt pending home sales in California, according to the California Assocation of Realtors' (C.A.R.) most recent home sales report. The shortage has specifically impacted REO sales, which dropped both yearly and monthly.