Default management

Years after the worst of the housing crisis, states still dealing with high foreclosure activity are weighing laws to speed the process on vacant or abandoned properties.

National foreclosure activity is at an 11-year low, but some cities have yet to fully recover.

Bayview Asset Management is marketing another $183 million of bonds backed by reperforming mortgages acquired last year from CitiFinancial Credit Co.

Housing prices in the Near West Side, Logan Square and a handful of other popular areas north of downtown are now well above their pre-crash peaks, but most of the city and the suburbs are still clawing their way back from the depths of the devastating crash.

First- and second-lien mortgage default rates increased slightly in February, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.