Wells Fargo & Co. announced that it has named Yvette Hollingsworth as its chief compliance officer, effective June 1.

Just days after Bank of America officially announced its nationwide program offering up to $30,000 in relocation assistance for short sales, a Massachusetts-based real estate company revealed in a blog that one of its clients was approved to receive $10,000. In order to be eligible for the relocation assistance, BofA stated that the short sale must be initiated by the end of this year and close by September 26, 2013. Also, the amount offered is determined on a case-by-case basis, with variables such as the value of the home and amount owed factored into the equation.

While the housing market is starting to show signs that it is strengthening, for some states, recovery still seems to be in the very distant future. According to a report from Capital Economics, one factor that will determine the speed of recovery for individual states is the type of foreclosure procedure. Paul Diggle, author of the report, said that many of the judicial states, which are struggling to clear their backlog of foreclosures, will lag behind during recovery. However, Rob Pitingolo, research assistant with the Urban Institute, noted that it's not the judicial process itself that is the problem, but a lack of resources.

MGIC Investment Corporation announced Thursday that its Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation subsidiary filed a lawsuit against Freddie Mac and its conservator, FHFA. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the dispute is in regards to a disagreement over aggregate loss limit under certain pool insurance policies.

The RE/MAX: National Housing Report found that the national median home price rose for the third straight month in April, indicating that the housing recovery in 2012 is continuing. The report surveyed 53 metropolitan areas and found that the median home price was $161,000, 3.2 percent higher than in March and 5.9 percent higher than in April 2011. February marked the first time in 18 months that home prices experienced an increase, and data from March and April shows a positive trend.

Gerner & Kearns, Co., L.P.A. announced recently that Michael Lubes has been appointed as an associate in the firm's Collections Practice Group.

American InfoSource LP: (AIS) announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Ascension Capital Group, Inc., (ACG).

Clinton Alcorn joined Cityside Management Corporation as chief business development officer.

Fitch Ratings released a report projecting another 7.8 percent drop in U.S. home prices before the market reaches sustainability, according to the rating agency's fourth quarter sustainable home price (SHP) report. This is a decrease from last quarter's prediction of a 9.1 percent drop. As long as economic growth is steady and inflation runs close to 3 percent annually, Fitch believes home prices will finally hit bottom in late 2013, and then move towards a slow recovery.

While the U.S. housing market appears to be on the road to recovery, it will be a rather patchy one, with some regions seeing home prices rise as high as 5 percent and others falling flat, according to a report released from the Demand Institute, which is jointly operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen. According to the report, three variables will indicate the speed of recovery for individual states: state-level unemployment rates, the proportion of foreclosure inventory relative to total inventory, and the extent of recent price declines.