Experts surveyed by Zillow expect home prices to decline slightly in 2012 and predict they will bottom in 2013, according to the June 2012 Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey. The survey was comprised of 114 respondents with various backgrounds including economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists. Respondents predicted home prices will fall 0.4 percent in 2012, and then rise by 1.3 percent in 2013. Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries commented that the convergence of expectations among economists lends further support to the claim that a bottom is real.

Count another major downgrade against the global financial community. On Thursday Moody's Investors Service slashed credit ratings for 15 major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, among others. The reason for Moody's actions: The biggest banks face too much risk from debt-saddled Europe, earnings volatility, and still-faulty mortgages stateside. The ratings agency grouped the downgraded institutions into three groups. Stocks slid for many of the banks.

Fitch Ratings released a commentary Thursday asserting that FHFA's plan to clarify the triggers for a loan repurchase request could be a boon for the industry at large. FHFA had made an earlier announcement that the agency intended to clarify its positions on the appropriate triggers for a putback request from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The GSEs have asked for more than $80 billion in flawed loan repurchases from lenders over the past three years. As a result, it has been argued that lenders have raised standards for loans beyond what many homebuyers can achieve. In the commentary, Fitch suggested that laying out putback triggers and reducing putback liability will have an overall positive effect for the housing market.

Potestivo & Associates, P.C. has a new attorney on its team. The firm announced Wednesday the hiring of Caleb J. Halberg to support its Illinois operation in the Chicago office.

Data shows that the onset of the housing crisis brought with it an increase in students taking out loans for higher education. Since the third quarter of 2008, student loan debt has increased by 47.9 percent ($293 million). This increase is attributed to the drop in the availability of home equity loans, which are often used by homeowning parents to finance their children's education. While student loan debt has risen, NAHB's analysis dismissed speculation that loan delinquency could spell disaster for housing and the economy.

If a lender had to choose between a consumer with a modified mortgage or a consumer who defaulted but did not get modified, turns out, the lender should go with the modified borrower. According to a new TransUnion study, those who received a modification did better with maintaining payments on loans opened after their initial delinquency than those who did not get modified. The study looked at modified and non-modified delinquent borrowers who opened up auto loans and car loans after their initial delinquency.

U.S. home prices averaged $200,000 in April 2012, posting a monthly gain, but still down from a year ago, Lender Processing Services revealed in a preliminary release. According to the analytics company's Home Price Index (HPI), which reports on price changes based on residential real estate transactions occurring in April 2012, prices increased 1.1 percent from the month before and decreased by 0.1 percent from April 2011. The states, including the District of Columbia, which posted the greatest monthly increases were Alaska (2.6 percent), D.C. (2.4 percent), and Georgia (2.2 percent).

The Warren Group reported Thursday that foreclosure activity in Massachusetts rose in the month of May as banks resume foreclosure processes. The number of foreclosure petitions in the state more than doubled year-over-year, rising from 699 in May 2011 to 1,724 in May 2012.

The Law Offices of Daniel C. Consuegra, P.L., announced Tuesday that since the start of the year, the firm has named two new partners and taken steps to personalize their services, including opening a new office.

The drop in existing home sales reported by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) Thursday likely stemmed from a lack of distressed properties on the market, according to IHS Global Insight. In May, existing-home sales made a fall of 1.5 percent from the month before. The share of investor purchases also declined, which IHS economist Patrick Newport said is likely due to a drop in the number of distressed homes. According to the NAR report, investor purchases made up 17 percent of homes sales in May, down from 20 percent in April and 19 percent in May 2011.