Servicing

While the call for the creation of a catastrophic insurance fund for mortgage-backed securities has been gaining ground in recent weeks, two leading Federal Reserve Board economists are poised to push the concept one step further, suggesting a backstop for all asset-backed securities.

WASHINGTON—Lenders are not only facing increasing loan-repurchase demands from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—but according to the GSEs, seller/servicers are falling behind on repayments.

Some 23.8% of 1,000 local real estate brokers, agents and appraisers in the Gulf Coast area surveyed by Clear Capital reported a negative impact on their markets from the disastrous oil spill.

Mortgage servicers completed 36,700 permanent HAMP modifications in July, down from 51,200 in the previous month, according to the Treasury Department.

According to the Harvard Joint Center's latest report on housing, the number of households in America is expected to grow over the coming decade. The study projects an average growth of anywhere from 1.25 million to 1.5 million households per year, depending on immigration. This rate of growth in household formation would well outpace the last five years, when growth was less than 1 million households per year.

Default and asset manager provider Altisource Portfolio Solutions is adding short sale and deed-in-lieu services to mortgage lenders and servicers.

Most maturing loans already in special servicing are either delinquent or in foreclosure, according to the latest Fitch Ratings weekly newsletter. The rating agency says this trend is likely to continue into 2011, when 2,198 fixed-rate commercial mortgage loans (representing $26.5 billion) mature, with 17% already in special servicing.

eTEC Appraisal Management Solutions in Phoenix is forming a new partnership with Affiliated Lender Services, a Florida-based vendor and consulting firm for mortgage lenders.

Residential home sales plummeted 30% in July from June, according to the RE/MAX National Housing Report, which provides an early reading of actual closings.

Financial Asset Services, Inc., Irvine, Calif., a national asset management company, has launched a new Door Knock service designed to help mortgage servicers in their loss mitigation efforts.