Even the usually ""unmoved"" appraiser community is starting to show confidence in today's housing climate, according to the results of a recently conducted industry survey released Wednesday. The data show nearly 55 percent of appraisers polled have ""mildly or moderately strong"" confidence in the housing market, while 25 percent were neutral. Experts say the group is a ""good gauge"" of housing conditions because they tend to be realistic, focused on their local markets, and unswayed by news stories or national numbers.

WFG National Title Insurance Company (WFG National Title), a provider of title insurance and real estate settlement services for lender, commercial and residential transactions nationwide, appointed industry veteran Lee Ann Fenske to lead as SVP of compliance and as a national training officer.

Over the past couple years, rentals of single-family homes have served as a growing segment of the housing market. However, lately limited supply and rising home prices are leading to rising rents, thus slowing growth in this market, according to a report from CoreLogic. Having been on the decline since 2009, single-family rental properties now have about a 2.9-month supply available on the market. For comparison, anything below six months supply in the purchase market is considered low. The result of tight supply, naturally, is rising prices.

Starting July 1, large numbers of non-paying borrowers will have the opportunity to modify existing mortgages through a more streamlined process. This sounds like a good way to reduce foreclosures and prop up home prices, but as we will shortly see the proposed program is oddly risky and likely to encourage additional defaults. The program is open to borrowers who have already modified their loans once, perhaps a few years ago when rates were higher. This, at least, is a good idea. So what's the big difference between the new program and the modifications offered previously?

ISGN CorporationTM (ISGN), a Florida-based provider of end-to-end technology solutions and services to the mortgage industry, teamed up with TRUPOINT Partners, an independent regulatory compliance organization, to offer a comprehensive Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Mock Audit.

Coverage:- LPS: number of Past Due Mortgages Below 5M Mark- Gallup: Americans More Confident Prices Will Rise in

Attorneys for Standard & Poor's (S&P) filed Monday a motion to dismiss a civil lawsuit from the federal government accusing the ratings agency of inflating ratings and misrepresenting the creditworthiness of certain securities. Led by Attorney General Eric Holder, the Department of Justice announced in early February a complaint against S&P for allegedly defrauding investors in an attempt to gain more business. At the time, Holder noted that his department had identified more than $5 billion in losses to federally insured financial institutions resulting from collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) rated by S&P between March and December 2007.

A day before Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) director Richard Cordray testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs to deliver his semi-annual report, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chair of the House Committee on Financial Services--which was also slated to hear from Cordray--announced his committee cannot accept Cordray's testimony as Cordray's appointment is not legal. Hensarling intends to ""conduct rigorous oversight"" of the agency until the leadership issue is resolved, but he does not accept Cordray's continuation of his position as director.

Freddie Mac announced it is now offering a free, online CreditSmart tutorial to provide working families and new or inexperienced borrowers with basic sound information about building savings, personal credit, and making wise financial choices.