Atlanta-based Regent Partners LLC and TriGate Capital have joined forces to form a $400 million fund to invest in commercial real estate in Atlanta and the Southwest. It's just one more sign that the downturn in the sector has created a buyer's market of incredible bargains.

A group of properties located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania valued at almost $3.4 million were sold for less than a third of their value at the September 2009 annual upset tax sale. According to a recent report by the Real Estate Tax Sale Law Network, Inc. (RETSL), a servicer who connects lenders and property owners with legal experts who know the intricacies of real estate tax sale law, the properties sold for a total of $1,066,394, equaling only 31 percent of their value.

The California State Department of Real Estate (DRE) says it revoked a record number of real estate licenses in 2009, and accepted another record number of license surrenders from real estate professionals facing disciplinary action. All told, over 775 licensees in the state had their license revoked or simply surrendered their license while facing accusations last year.

President Obama released his budget for fiscal year 2011 on Monday, and as expected, it includes a proposal for a hefty tax on big banks - a fee intended to recoup taxpayer dollars that the government shelled out to pull the financial system back from the brink of collapse. If approved by Congress, the levy would go into effect on June 30, 2010, but it's a touchy subject for the big guys since most of them have repaid their capital injections in full and the Treasury has already said it expects to turn a $19 billion profit from its bailout investments in banks.

After a comprehensive search process by the American Securitization Forum (ASF) board of directors, Tom Deutsch was appointed as the organization's executive director. Members of the board said they strongly believe Deutsch has the leadership skills, as well as the depth of experience and understanding of the industry to guide ASF in its efforts to restart the securitization markets and restore vital credit to Maine Street and everyday Americans.

Following a review by HUD, Chicago Bancorp, an independent mortgage bank based in Chicago, will be permitted to underwrite and close mortgage loans without prior HUD review, according to an announcement Monday by the bank. Participation in the Direct Endorsement Program is a privilege accorded only to mortgagees who continue to demonstrate the ability to originate mortgage loans in according with HUD underwriting policy, the federal agency said.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released its monthly Foreclosure Prevention Report, which summarizes loss mitigation activity for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), the GSEs have initiated 43,000 permanent modifications and 442,500 active trials. FHFA also reported that in 2009, the two companies refinanced more than 4 million loans for struggling homeowners.

Cogent QC Systems recently announced the release of Version 2.0 of its CogentQC.NET platform, which includes ServicingQC.NET for quality control of servicing processes and ProductionQC.NET for quality control of loan originations.

Both single-family home and condo sales saw remarkable growth in the month of December, but 2009's total sales were still down from overall sales in 2008, The Warren Group, a Boston-based provider of real estate data in New England, recently reported.

Already the number of regional bank failures has begun to mount, with regulators stepping in to close the doors on six institutions over the weekend - two in Georgia and one each in California, Florida, Minnesota, and Washington. Just one month into the year, and the number of 2010 bank collapses sits at 15. This latest round of closures is expected to cost the FDIC another $1.85 billion.