Latest news from http://www.mortgagebiznews.com http://www.mortgagebiznews.com http://www.dsnews.com/articles/home-prices-start-year-with-26-annual-drop-2012-02-05 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500 Data through the end of January released by Clear Capital Monday shows home prices in the U.S. are down 2.6 percent from a year ago. The company's rolling quarter assessment, which compares the four months through January 2012 to the previous three months, returned a 1.6 percent decline in home prices at the national level, after three months of stability. Clear Capital says the culprit is the Midwest market, which saw a dramatic turnaround in momentum in January and led the nation in quarterly... http://www.dsnews.com/articles/home-prices-start-year-with-26-annual-drop-2012-02-05 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/bank-of-americas-barbara-desoer-to-retire-2012-02-03 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:44:00 -0500 Bank of America informed its staff Friday that Barbara Desoer will retire from the company in February. In her current role as president of Bank of America Home Loans, Desoer helped manage the integration of the Home Loans business into Consumer Banking and oversees the servicing of the company’s more than 12 million mortgage customers who remain current on their accounts, as well as the mortgage origination side of the business. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/bank-of-americas-barbara-desoer-to-retire-2012-02-03 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/florida-bill-limits-banks-hoa-obligations-2012-02-03 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:49:00 -0500 Among the provisions stipulated in Florida's newly revised House Bill 319 are enhanced specifications regarding banks' obligations to homeowner associations (HOAs). When a bank forecloses on a home, it potentially absorbs liabilities from unpaid homeowner or condo association fees, which are often compounded by late fees and attorney fees. Reps. George R. Moraitis and Fed Costello co-sponsored House Bill 319, providing banks clarification on just how much liability they incur. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/florida-bill-limits-banks-hoa-obligations-2012-02-03 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/new-york-ag-sues-three-largest-lenders-over-mers-2012-02-03 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:46:00 -0500 New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has filed a lawsuit against the nation's top three mortgage lenders charging that their use of the electronic registry system MERS has resulted in deceptive and fraudulent foreclosure filings throughout New York's state and federal courts. The lawsuit alleges that employees of Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, acting as "MERS certifying officers," submitted court documents containing false information. MERS is also named as a... http://www.dsnews.com/articles/new-york-ag-sues-three-largest-lenders-over-mers-2012-02-03 40.75 -74.1 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/outstanding-mortgage-balances-declined-30b-each-month-in-2011-2012-02-03 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:18:00 -0500 Each month of 2011, outstanding mortgage balances in the U.S. declined by an average of $30 billion, according to a recently released report from Moody's Analytics and Equifax. The report attributes the decline to defaulted loans being written off. Aggregate delinquency rose by 6 basis points in December to 6.12 percent, according to the companies' joint study. The rate remains in line with rates seen since April but has declined since a January high of 8.25 percent. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/outstanding-mortgage-balances-declined-30b-each-month-in-2011-2012-02-03 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/economy-adds-243000-jobs-in-january-unemployment-rate-down-to-83-2012-02-03 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:49:00 -0500 In a report released Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics that could be described only as the Republicans' worst nightmare, the economy added 243,000 jobs in January the strongest month-to-month gain since last March as the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. The unemployment rate, the number of people employed, and the number unemployed were at their best levels since President Obama took office in January 2009. Economists had anticipated about 155,000 new jobs in January. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/economy-adds-243000-jobs-in-january-unemployment-rate-down-to-83-2012-02-03 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/states-deadline-for-decision-on-robo-signing-settlement-gets-pushed-2012-02-02 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:12:00 -0500 It will be at least three more days before the industry learns how many and which states have agreed to the robo-signing settlement that was proposed last week. The deadline for state attorneys general to opt in has been pushed from February 3 to February 6. A spokesperson for Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller says at least one state requested an additional business day to come to a decision, so Miller, who is head of the states' negotiating committee, moved the cut-off date to Monday. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/states-deadline-for-decision-on-robo-signing-settlement-gets-pushed-2012-02-02 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/corelogic-records-47-drop-in-home-prices-2011-2012-02-02 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:03:00 -0500 Year-end data from CoreLogic shows home prices fell by 4.7 percent over 2011. It marks the fifth consecutive year the company has recorded an annual decline in residential property values. CoreLogic performed a separate calculation, which illustrates just how big an impact distressed sales are having on home prices. The company excluded all short sale and REO transactions from 2011 and found that when the distress factor is taken out, prices declined by just 0.9 percent. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/corelogic-records-47-drop-in-home-prices-2011-2012-02-02 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/potestivo-associates-announces-new-hires-2012-02-02 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:49:00 -0500 Rochester Hills, Michigan-based Potestivo & Associates recently announced the addition of two attorneys and a new director of information technology. Daren S. O'Connell will serve as an associate attorney supporting the firm's Michigan foreclosure department. Mary K. Atallah will serve as an associate attorney in the Michigan office supporting both the landlord/tenant and litigation departments. Daniel Bowen has been named the firm's new director of information technology. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/potestivo-associates-announces-new-hires-2012-02-02 43.21 -77.64 http://www.dsnews.com/articles/mortgage-rates-give-back-last-weeks-increases-setting-new-record-lows-2012-02-02 Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:53:00 -0500 Average mortgage interest rates have reversed from the upward blip reported last week. Declines this week completely erased the previous week's increases, as the average rate attached to the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, 15-year fixed-rate mortgage, and 5-year adjustable-rate mortgage all settled in at new record lows, Freddie Mac reported Thursday. The GSE attributed the about-face to the fact that recent data on economic growth fell short of market projections. http://www.dsnews.com/articles/mortgage-rates-give-back-last-weeks-increases-setting-new-record-lows-2012-02-02