Diane Gozza

According to David Wessel, The Wall Street Journal global economics editor, the housing bust is over. It's in print, it's on YouTube, and people are blogging that now the bust is over. President Obama can keep his job.

It's no secret that many of our cities are financially strapped for cash as their expenses continue to outweigh their revenues year after year.However, declaring bankruptcy is not necessarily the answer.

Once the industry realized just how horrible the housing crisis was, discussions about REO-to-rental and deed-for-lease strategies became popular and the debate continues today.

On July 21, 2010, President Obama signed a bill that literally overhauled every corner of the financial industry—Dodd-Frank became an immediate game changer. Among other it contains an obscure provision that may fail to catch people's attention.

Mortgage interest rates may be at historically low levels, but the housing industry is not helping the overall economic recovery in the U.S. With the secondary market all but dried up except for Freddie and Fannie, who together purchased over three-quarters of originations in 2011, getting a mortgage these days is near impossible—perfect borrowers need only apply.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is charting the course for new regulation on qualified mortgages, the new QM rule. Their goal is to dissuade lenders from partaking of mortgage loan programs that involve undo risk taking by imposing more stringent underwriting principals to potential loan applicants, including requiring that borrowers show they have the ability to repay a loan.

n this season of high political drama it is not really surprising that potential candidates, as well as a myriad of federal agencies, are all jockeying for the most complimentary spot in the limelight. The National Fair Housing Alliance is no exception.

The formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the subsequent melding of responsibility for stronger consumer protections have added a greater dimension of regulatory accountability for supervised banks, nonbanks and the third-party service providers they utilize. It means keeping an eye on a few things.

For many years, mortgage servicers operated with little or no regulation and only quasi-governance at best. Operational inadequacies were largely ignored as the mortgage banking community was focused on origination…better, faster and highly profitable.This is definitely no longer the case.

In 1848, the discovery of gold in California proved to be one of the most significant events in U.S. history. The dream of striking it rich and reaping the benefits of copious finds held a strong allure for many adventurous risk takers. Today, investors armed with reams of data and metrics, and that same adventurous spirit, are looking at the foreclosure to rental property market with that same gleam in their eyes.

With spring right around the corner, and signs of economic recovery everywhere, there is a feeling that brighter days are ahead. Glimmers of hope can even be seen in one of the most distressed U.S. housing markets in the country.

As an outsource provider of increasingly commoditized loss mitigation tools and asset preservation services, having the right customer service philosophy may be the only deciding factor to our clients versus the competition.

Vacant property registration and property ordinances have been an integral part of judicially sanctioned enforcement efforts in communities for some time. These municipal rulings serve to protect citizens from neighborhood blight, the ensuing rise in criminal activity and the resulting deflation in property values so common in areas with high foreclosure rates.

Everyone knows that if you are looking to purchase a home, the time has never been better than right now. Tenacious builders that survived the housing market plunge are gearing up; they are building new homes and remodeling existing ones at a rate that we have not seen for many years.

Everyone knows that if you are looking to purchase a home, the time has never been better than right now. Tenacious builders that survived the housing market plunge are gearing up; they are building new homes and remodeling existing ones at a rate that we have not seen for many years.

The media has been flooded this past week with positive news on the housing market. Sales of existing homes show definite signs of life and construction jobs are rebounding, making it is easy to sit back and breathe a sigh of relief. However, in taking a second look, it is important to keep in mind that we are not out of the woods yet.

In his recent State of the Union address, President Obama laid out a "Blueprint for an America Built to Last," calling for, among other things, action to help responsible borrowers and support a housing market recovery.

Richard Cordray made his first appearance on Capitol Hill this past week in front of the Senate Banking Committee.

In this election year, there certainly is no shortage of political rhetoric and drama in every debate and speech we encounter, including the recent State of the Union address by President Obama. In the address, President Obama addressed the latest of this administration’s efforts to thwart the woes of the housing market.

There are many challenges associated with principal reduction as a tool to heal our ailing housing market. Many concerns are raised when this type of loan modification is being contemplated.