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.

[ca_audio url_mp3='http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/show/4/970/show_4970571.mp3' css_class='codeart-google-mp3-player' autoplay='false' download='false' html5='false']Ron D'Vari, CEO and Co-Founder of NewOak Capital joins the broadcast to discuss NPLs, Interest Rates and REO to Rental institutional investor strategies. Also, borrowers flocking to ARM loans? Ron was formerly with BlackRock where ...

At a national level, Clear Capital revised its 2.6 percent projected price gain over the year this year up to 6 percent. While lower than the current yearly gain of 8.6 percent, this forecast is still greater than historical norms, which rank between 4 and 5 percent. Meanwhile, 45 of the top 50 metropolitan markets will experience yearly price increases during the second half of the year, according to Clear Capital's forecast.

Potestivo & Associates, P.C. hired Candice L. Hope as director of human resources at the firm's Rochester Hills, Michigan office.

The Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF) named Daniel Burnham—a HUD approved housing counselor with Money Management International(MMI)—Counselor of the Year.

Fitch Ratings has observed inconsistencies in the way servicers report losses in cases of principal forbearance. According to the agency, before 2010, pooling and servicing agreements did not require servicers to report forborne principal as losses. Nationstar Mortgage announced it is revising losses on loans with principal forbearances acquired in 2012 from Aurora Bank FSB and Aurora Loan Services.

A North Dakota judge sentenced two officers from an Arizona mortgage originator for their roles in a $28 million scheme to defraud North Dakota-based BNC National Bank.

Polsinelli, a law firm serving corporations, institutions, entrepreneurs, and individuals, selected Anoush Hakimi as counsel for its national real estate finance group.

Churchill Mortgage, a mortgage lender that provides conventional, FHA, VA and USDA residential mortgages across 26 states, was named as a Top Workplace by The Tennessean.

National home prices in May posted their biggest annual gain since February 2006, CoreLogic reported Tuesday. When including distressed sales, home prices shot up by 12.2 percent year-over-year in May, marking the 15th straight month of increases. From April to May, home prices climbed 2.6 percent. CoreLogic's pending home price index points to further improvements in June, with prices projected to exceed May's increase with a 13.2 percent gain.