Boston-based Real Estate Fiduciary Services (REFS), a real estate investment strategist company, has announced the formation of a specialized Asset Management Alliance. Led by REFS President John Baczewski and comprised of seven other senior-level real estate practitioners from diverse backgrounds and cities, the alliance was created in response to the growing number of real estate investors, lenders, and owners with financially distressed and underperforming assets.

Walnut Creek, California-based PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. announced on Thursday that it has expanded the company’s Refinance-to-Modification (RTM) program. The program can now be used with all PMI-insured loans, not just those loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that are eligible for the federal government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).

Citing signs that the U.S. economy is beginning to show improvement but remains strained, the Federal Reserve Board decided this week to leave its benchmark federal funds rate at a target range of 0 to 0.

Allonhill, a Denver-based national mortgage due diligence and credit risk management firm, has announced the promotion of Diana Mead to COO. In this newly created role, Mead oversees credit risk management, due diligence, servicer oversight, and the company’s technology department.

After months of plummeting, mortgage and home equity marketing via direct mail campaigns is finally leveling off, and according to the Chicago-based direct marketing firm Mintel Comperemedia, this detail points to a turnaround in the housing industry.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) issued its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey on Wednesday, which showed the applications for home loans – both new purchases and refinances – rose last week.

The default servicing law firm of Millsap & Singer, LLC has expanded its Kansas City office, serving Western Missouri and Kansas, to a new location in Leawood, Kansas. The Leawood, Kansas location increases Millsap & Singer’s presence and the office space the firm has in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

More than 300 attendees gathered at the InterContinental New Orleans June 3-5 to participate in the Loan Management & Servicing Seminar presented by USFN—America’s Mortgage Banking Attorneys.

The National Association of Realtors’ (NAR’s) chief economist, Lawrence Yun, publicly stated earlier this week that poor appraisals are stalling home sales. In announcing NAR’s numbers for home resales in May, Yun said, Pending home sales indicated much stronger activity, but some contracts are falling through from faulty valuations that keep buyers from getting a loan.

Mortgage rates shifted only slightly this week amid mixed reports on the state of the housing market, according to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) issued by Freddie Mac on Thursday. Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s VP and chief economist, pointed to numbers released by the National Association of Realtors earlier this week, which showed that sales of existing homes have risen for two consecutive months.