Servicing

Foreclosure activity in February fell to its lowest level in nine years even though lenders repossessed more assets, according to data from RealtyTrac.

Home prices fell in January while completed foreclosures grew month-to-month, according to figures released March 18 by mortgage technology firm FNC.

Housing markets across the West Coast once again beat out all others, according to the latest Home Value Forecast released March 18 by Pro Teck Valuation Services.

From interest rate movements to new disclosures and vendor management challenges, the recent Regional Conference of Mortgage Bankers Associations touched on myriad hot-button topics the mortgage industry faces this year.

Hoping to deliver relief to Americans pounded by the financial crisis, the government has poured billions of dollars into a sort of Red Cross for homeowners.

Mortgage default rates remained largely unchanged in February amidst mixed results nationwide, according to data released by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest servicer of U.S. mortgages, is buying the right to handle $45 billion of home loans from Ocwen Financial Corp., according to a person familiar with the transaction.

Fortress Investment Group plans to cash out its entire stake in commercial mortgage banker Walker & Dunlop.

The number of borrowers who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their home continued to improve last year, according to CoreLogic.

But derivatives that magnified their performance woes were the bigger culprit, according to a new book by investor Howard Hill, who created models for collateralized mortgage obligations before the meltdown.