GMAC Financial Services has agreed to sell a portion of its Residential Capital (ResCap) mortgage business to Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. of Canada, the two companies announced this week. The deal is for three of GMAC’s home services divisions: GMAC Global Relocation Services, GMAC Real Estate, and GMAC Home Services Mortgage.

Members of the recently formed industry activist group Committee for Actual Real Estate Solutions, Inc. (CARES) met with key congressional chiefs of staff from both political parties in Washington, D.C.

According to a report released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), mortgage application volume subsided last week as mortgage rates inched upward, in the wake of continued bad news and turmoil in the financial sector.

Existing-home sales were down in August following a healthy gain in July as tight mortgage credit curtailed activity, according to a report released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) today.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for possible corporate fraud, the agency said yesterday. Officials also confirmed that Lehman Brothers and insurer American International Group are under investigation as well.

LandAmerica Financial Group, Inc. announced earlier this week that it is now doing business in New Jersey as LandAmerica NJ Title Insurance Company. The change became effective on September 15, 2008, the company said in a press statement.

Vantium Capital Inc., a mortgage investment company, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Dallas-based Acqura Loan Services, and two affiliated companies: Strategic Recovery Group, and Go Financial Solutions.

As we reported yesterday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is proposing a $700 billion government bailout for the nation’s financial sector. Earlier today, Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) all testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the subject.

Home prices in the United States fell 0.6 percent from June to July, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OPHEO) said in a report released today. For the 12 months ending in July, U.S. prices fell 5.

There were only two. And then there were none. Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch last week left only two viable independent U.S. investment banks – Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.