Mortgage defaults

Foreclosure activity dropped year-over-year for the eighth consecutive month in May but remained essentially unchanged from April, according to RealtyTrac.

Delinquencies on non-owner-occupied commercial real estate loans ticked up in the first quarter after years of steady declines. Some are shrugging off the increase, saying it was expected given the strong demand for CRE loans, but others say there's good reason to be concerned.

There's been plenty of speculation about insurance companies crowding out commercial mortgage bond investors this year.

Foreclosure inventory nationwide fell again in April from a year ago, according to CoreLogic.

There were more than a million homeowners whose properties exited negative equity status over the past year, with the potential for another million to do so if home prices continue to rise, according to CoreLogic.

While negative equity rates continue to drop nationally from their 2012 peak, the share of homeowners underwater in the Rust Belt remains elevated, according to Zillow.

BentleyForbes once owned such renowned properties as the Watergate in Washington and Bank of America Plaza, Atlanta's tallest skyscraper. Now the company is on the verge of vanishing.

Cash sales are falling overall, but still represent the majority of sales involving homes in the lowest tier of property values, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

The delinquency rate on the loans included in commercial mortgage-backed securities increased for the third consecutive month in May after significant declines at the start of the year, according to Trepp.

New York's State Assembly has passed legislation that seeks to address problems related to preforeclosure vacant and abandoned properties.