After 16 months of declines, median home prices in California posted a year-over-year gain, according to the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.). The median price of a single-family home was $291,080, a 1.6 percent increase compared to a revised $286,550 for March 2011, and a 9.2 percent increase compared to February's median price of $266,660. The month-over-month increase is the largest since March 2004. C.A.R. reported that California's housing inventory declined, with the Unsold Inventory Index for existing, single-family homes down to 4.1 months in March, compared to a revised 5.4 months in February and a 5.4 month supply in March 2011.

Kenneth Coyne and Jennifer Michaels joined Millsap & Singer, LLC, a provider of legal representation on foreclosure, bankruptcy, and mortgage-related litigation in Missouri and Kansas.

Citigroup reported a 2 percent decline for the 2012 first quarter, with a net income of $2.93 billion, or $0.95 cents per share, compared to $2.99 billion, or $0.99 cents per share, the same quarter a year ago. The 2.93 billion includes a negative $1.3 billion due to accounting adjustments for the value of Citi's debt.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a bulletin Friday reminding financial institutions that they may be held accountable for violations under contracted service providers. The agency said that banks and nonbank entities need to supervise their third-party vendors with due diligence, consistently request and review their internal controls and training materials, and establish clear expectations about compliance. The CFPB is reaffirming its role as both a formal supervisor and informal trendsetter in the industry.

Builder confidence fell three points in April to 25, matching the lowest point of the year, the National Association of Home Builders reported Monday. The month-over-month decline was the first since last September. All three components of the index - current sales, sales six months out, and buyer traffic - fell in April, with buyer traffic slipping to a four-month low. The builder assessment of present home sales conditions dropped three points to 26. The outlook for home sales in the next six months also fell three points to 32, retreating from a near five-year high. Buyer traffic slid to 18 from 22 in March.

In response to mortgage servicing rules the Consumer Financial Protection announced it may propose, Fitch Ratings issued a statement and said it believes mortgage servicers will incur increased operational, compliance, and reporting expenses if the rules take effect. To create more transparency, the CFPB said it is considering rules which require clear monthly mortgage statements, a warning before interest rates adjust, options to avoid ""force-placed"" insurance, and early information to keep customers out of foreclosure.

Eleven state attorneys general sent a letter to Edward DeMarco, Acting Director of the FHFA, urging him to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to move forward with principal reductions. Headlined by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, the letter doubled down on the FHFA to ""preserve assets and prevent unnecessary foreclosures by implementing loan modifications that include principal write-downs."" State attorneys general said that new reductions ""should consider all of a borrower's debts, not just the monthly mortgage debt, be uniform, transparent, and publicly disclosed.""

Amid improvements in the mortgage sector, Wells Fargo & Company reported a net income of $4.2 billion, with earnings per share at $0.75 for the 2012 first quarter on Friday. Last year during the same quarter, the bank reported a net income of $3.8 billion, or $0.67 per share. The San Francisco-based bank also reported mortgage banking noninterest income at $2.9 billion, up $506 million from fourth quarter 2011. Mortgage originations increased as well, with the bank reporting $129 billion in originations, up from $120 billion reported in the fourth quarter.

eMortgage Logic, LLC is celebrating its 10th year in business. The company provides residential real property valuations, data, analytics, and customized solutions for mortgage lenders, servicers, and investors nationwide. The idea for eMortgage Logic originated with Ralph Sells during his tenure at Freddie Mac, after Sells revived a struggling internal broker price opinion company acquired by the GSE's HomeSteps division.

JPMorgan Chase, which surpassed Bank of America as the largest bank in terms of assets in October 2011, reported a net income $5.4 billion, with earnings per share at $1.31. The reported net income and earnings per share for the 2011 first quarter was $5.6 billion and $1.28, respectively. The bank saw a significant boost with mortgage production-related revenue, which was reported at $1.6 billion, an increase of $722 million, or 80 percent, from the year before. At $59.9 billion, mortgage loan application volumes increased 33 percent compared to the prior year, and 14 percent from the previous quarter, mostly due to heavy refinancing activity.