About 15.7 million U.S. homeowners were underwater in the first quarter of 2012, according Zillow's Negative Equity Report released Thursday. Yet, most underwater homeowners are current on their mortgages, with nine in 10 continuing to make their payments on time. Also, just 10.1 percent of underwater homeowners are more than 90 days delinquent, Zillow reported.

Home prices for GSE-backed mortgages rose 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous 2011 fourth quarter, according to FHFA's purchase-only home price index (HPI). Prices also showed a 0.5 percent increase from the year ago first quarter, and month-over-month, prices increased 1.8 percent in March. The purchase only HPI uses home sales price information from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans and includes more than 6 million repeat sales transactions.

New home sales rose 3.3 percent month-over-month in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, the Commerce Department and HUD reported Wednesday. On a yearly basis, new home sales rose 9.9 percent. And, the good news did not end there. This report was followed by the National Association of Realtor's existing home sales report released Tuesday, which showed the sale of existing homes rose 3.4 percent on a monthly basis and 10 percent year-over-year. In comparison to the sale of existing homes, Paul Diggle, property economist with Capital Economics, said new home sales will still continue to lag behind the existing home sales market, and one of the reasons for this is competition with discounted foreclosures and short sales.

Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) announced Monday it sold off 20.6 percent of common equity interest in Republic Financial Indemnity Group Inc. (RFIG) to a group of investors in a partial leveraged buyout (LBO).

ICBA Mortgage Solutions (ICBAMS) announced Tuesday that it has named Ron Bricker as Northeast regional manager.

Ellie Mae announced Wednesday that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company a patent for an advanced security model that enables managers, loan officers, and processors to securely access loan files and documents online. The patent is for an invention that allows multiple ownership of system files and resources while maintaining organizational control and security rules over users.

Senators Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) are sponsoring a bill to expand protections for military members in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is also supporting the bill, known as the Servicemember Housing Protection Act (S. 3179), which has been has been referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

The Texas Taxpayers and Research Association: (TTARA) released a report analyzing the findings of performance audits in Texas' 253 central appraisal districts (CAD). The report, titled ""Equal and Uniform...sort of,"" compiles the results of reviews of local appraisal districts performed by the Property Tax Assistance Division (PTAD), housed at the State Comptroller's Office. The purpose of the evaluation was to see if appraisal districts in the state have the necessary tools to appraise property at its fair market value.

New homes sales rose 3.3 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, the Commerce Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Wednesday (May 23). Sales for March were revised upward from 328,000 to 332,000. Sales for March were revised upward from 328,000 to 332,000. Economists had expected the report to show a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 335,000 for new home sales in April. New home sales in April were up 9.9 percent from April 2011, the seventh straight month of year-over-year increases.

The FDIC reportedly filed suit Friday against a number of large bank holding companies, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan Chase. Reuters reported that the FDIC seeks to recoup some $92 million for two banks that failed in 2009. Speaking with MReport, FDIC spokesperson David Barr declined to comment on the story. For the full details visit our sister publication at theMReport.com.