Existing-home sales rose 0.6 percent in April to an annual sales rate of 4.97 million, the highest level since November 2009, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday. The median price of an existing single-family home jumped $8,900 in the month to $192,800, the highest since August 2008. The inventory of homes for sale rose to 2.16 million--its highest level since last September. The supply of homes for sale rose to 5.2 months, the highest since October. Inventory has been a persistent concern to NAR, which says the low supply of homes for sale has reduced the number of transactions.

Month-end mortgage performance data in April continued to point to a recovery as delinquency and foreclosure rates posted record improvements, Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) reported Wednesday. In April, the delinquency rate sunk below 6.5 percent for the first time since July 2008, according to the data provider. At 6.21 percent, the delinquency rate recorded a month-over-month decrease of 5.81 percent and a year-over-year decline of 9.61 percent. The foreclosure pre-sale inventory rate, which stood at 3.17 percent in April, plunged 24.55 percent from a year ago.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff went back on a previous decision to dismiss most of Dexia's claims against JPMorgan Chase in a $774 million suit. In reversing his decision, Rakoff noted that he didn't have the jurisdiction to grant a dismissal in the first place, citing an appeals court decision in a similar case involving American International Group (AIG) and Bank of America. Dexia filed suit in January 2012, alleging it was fraudulently convinced to purchase more than $1.6 billion of securities that went bad.

Last year, some analysts were speculating the large supply of REOs and shadow inventory would keep the market depressed, but instead, the market is dealing with a lack of inventory available for sale, ProTeck Valuation Services noted in its May Home Value Forecast (HVF). ""[I]n reality the shortage of housing inventory has led buyers to bid more competitively against one another leading to significant home price increases and tighter housing conditions,"" said Tom O'Grady, CEO of Pro Teck.

RCO Legal, P.S., a mortgage default and foreclosure-focused law firm based in Bellevue, Washington, will join forces with Atlanta-based Johnson & Freedman, L.L.C., a law firm with a similar practice group.

The majority of metros covered in Zillow's Real Estate Market Reports saw home values inch up from March to April, the company reported Tuesday. Zillow's Home Value Index increased 0.5 percent month-over-month and 5.2 percent year-over-year. April marked the sixth consecutive month in which home values appreciated more than 5 percent on a yearly basis. According to Zillow, the last time national home values were at this level was in June 2004.

VRM Mortgage Services, a real estate solutions provider focused on helping financial institutions adapt and excel in a changing marketplace, named Ed Hunter as VP of business development.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reminded servicers of mortgage relief options available to homeowners whose residences were affected by the tornado that ravaged areas in Oklahoma.

The five banks that took part in the national mortgage settlement are getting close to completing their consumer relief obligations a year after the landmark deal was reached. So far, the five banks--Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial--have provided $50.63 billion in consumer relief to over 621,700 borrowers, according to an update from the settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith, Jr. The provided relief comes out to about $81,437 per borrower.

Ernst Publishing Company, a provider of technology and closing cost data for the real estate and home finance industries, received the 2013 Best of Albany Award in the publishers category.