U.S. home prices appreciated at a strong pace in the first quarter as prices rose 1.9 percent from the previous quarter, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported. The quarterly gain marks the seventh straight increase. Compared to the first quarter of 2012, prices were up by 6.7 percent, according to the FHFA's seasonally adjusted, purchase only House Price Index (HPI). From February to March, the index increased by 1.3 percent. FHFA also reported 41 states plus the District of Columbia experienced quarterly price gains.

The price of a new single-family home soared to a record high in April as sales jumped 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Thursday. The median price of a new home, according to the Census/HUD report, soared $20,900 (8.3 percent) in April to $271,600, the highest price on record. The inventory of homes available for sale rose to 155,000--the highest level since November 2011--translating to a 3.5 month supply, matching March for a record low.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ended May 18 dropped 23,000 to, 340,000 from the highest level since the end of March, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected initial claims to drop to 345,000. First-time jobless claims for the week ended May were revised up to 363,000 from the originally reported 360,000.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a diversified component and special mortgage servicer based in the Dallas area, cut the ribbon on its new Florida-based operation Wednesday.

Barclays forecast new non-agency RMBS issuance at $12 to $15 billion at the start of the year, and its latest research shows the market is on track to hit that mark. Contributing to that forecast are a few factors: First, Barclays notes, the capital costs of holding loans in portfolio will increase for many banks under Basel III, making securitization a more attractive proposition. Second, further hikes in guarantee fees (g-fees)--such as those mandated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)--could make for a more competitive private-label market.

A federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington ruled in favor of Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS) and other defendants, MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. announced.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a statement Wednesday to encourage banks and federal savings associations to work with customers affected by the destructive tornadoes that tore through Oklahoma.

Pacific Union Financial, LLC appointed industry veteran Scott Conradson as EVP of mortgage servicing. With over 28 years of servicing and default management experience, Conradson will manage the company's growing servicing portfolio.

Although data shows women generally earn less income than men, results from a recent Experian study found women come out ahead when comparing how mortgage debt is managed. According to the study, men were more likely to have a higher mortgage loan amount compared to women, but men were also more likely to be delinquent by 60 days or more. Experian found the mortgage origination amount for men was $187,245, which is 4.9 percent higher compared to the amount for women. At the same time, 5.7 percent of men were delinquent on their mortgage compared to 5.3 percent of women.

As home values improve and servicers continue to ramp up efforts to reduce delinquent pipelines through short sales and loan modifications, the composition of RMBS loan pools outstanding should also improve, according to Moody's most recent ResiLandscape. According to analysts from Moody's, rising home prices motivate current borrowers to avoid default, and they increase the proportion of current loans with loan-to-value (LTV) ratios below 100, which are the loans that are the least likely to go incur losses.