Servicing

As if appraisal management companies, readily available automated valuation models and broker priced opinion options were not enough challenges to the real estate appraisal profession, well-intended federal and state regulations are generating new controversy.

Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. had nearly 2,000 more loans cure in February compared with the number of new default notices received during the month.

Idiosyncrasies in regional markets appear to be among the reasons securitized multifamily overall has rebounded so quickly in terms of occupancy and rental increases but is one of the worst performing property types in terms of delinquencies, according to Fitch.

Before Barack Obama was elected president residential mortgage debt in the U.S. was actually larger than outstanding Treasury debt. At yearend 2009 home mortgage debt peaked at $10.1 trillion. Today that number is a $1 trillion lower - according to figures compiled by National Mortgage News and the Quarterly Data Report.

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.

Foreclosure starts and sales increased significantly in January, a sign that the processing backlog may be starting to clear, according to a new report from Lender Processing Services.

After months of stating that the housing market needs to bottom out in order to hasten an economic recovery, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney shifted to a more proactive message on housing during a weekend campaign appearance.

As cities and towns across the country struggle to pay bills and prevent troubled properties from giving rise to blighted neighborhoods, they're turning by the hundreds to a new tactic.

Nationstar Mortgage and an affiliate company, Newcastle Investment Corp., have agreed to acquire roughly $63 billion in mortgage servicing rights from Aurora Bank FSB, a subsidiary of the bankrupt Lehman Bros.

Foreclosure sales outpaced loan modifications in January for the first time since October 2009, when the government's Home Affordable Modification Program was just a few months old and still gaining altitude.