Codilis & Associates announced June 4 that Mike Sullivan has joined the company as director of sales and client relations.

Clayton Holdings LLC, provider of due diligence, underwriting, surveillance, and default servicing to the residential and commercial mortgage and fixed-income industries, announced Tuesday that Standard & Poor's (S&P) reaffirmed the company as a third-party due diligence provider for residential mortgage-backed securities rated by the agency.

First Valuation, a collateral valuation services provider, announced Tuesday Jacob Bohan as national sales executive. Bohan will manage existing client relationships and work to engage in new valuation partnerships for the company.

Sparking indignation in the mortgage broker community, Raj Date, deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, laid the bulk of the blame for the housing crisis on brokers during a speaking engagement Monday. His statements have led at least one industry trade group to call for his resignation. Marc Savitt, president of the National Association of Independent Housing Professionals, called Date's comments ""outrageous."" He said the group will call for the official's resignation this week.

Investors and lenders should expect loans currently originated to have a 20 percent higher chance of default than those originated in the '90s due to current economic conditions, according to the University Financial Associates (UFA). The UFA Default Risk Index rose slightly to 120 in the second quarter of 2012 from 119 compared to the previous quarter. While loans currently originated are more likely to default than those from the '90s, loans originated today are still much less likely to default compared to vintages from 2006 to 2008.

According to the data, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have all seen strong mortgage activity so far in 2012, with Massachusetts showing the strongest numbers. Activity in the state is up more than 28 percent, rising to 99,097 in the first four months of the year-an increase from 76,930 during the same period in 2011. Purchase mortgages increased almost 13 percent year-over-year to 13,376, while non-purchase (refinance) mortgages slid up 32 percent to 85,721.

With vacancies declining and rental prices rising, the climate in the housing industry is clearly warming up to rental properties. According to Moody's Analytics, ""weak income gains, favorable demographics, and the foreclosure crises"" are all causing people to choose renting over buying, and demand for rent will remain solid over the next two years.

Foreclosure activity in May was marked by lenders being impacted by local market conditions rather than any national trend, according to ForeclosureRadar's May 2012 Foreclosure Report. The report examined all foreclosure activity - sales, starts, and timelines - for Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington in the month of May. While foreclosure starts and sales rose overall between the five states, individual activity widely varied.

Following FHA’s decision to cut up-front mortgage insurance premiums for certain loans, Mortgage Returns announced Thursday a new service to help lenders identify new business opportunities created by the fee cuts.

ISGN Corporation announced Monday that the company has chosen Ritesh Idnani to serve as CEO.