Distressed

Demand is brisk enough that zombie home counts have stayed low, according to Attom, which is nevertheless keeping an eye on rising distressed mortgage activity.

Despite interest rate volatility, prepayment rates also increased, surging to levels last seen in October, according to a new ICE Mortgage Technology report.

The move comes as the House of Representatives passed a successor bill this week to support distressed homeowners served by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The rule rescission, one of many the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is planning, would officially remove temporary steps for mortgages added in 2021.

The government-sponsored enterprise is retiring a technology platform used for loan workout reporting and giving mortgage companies a deadline for leaving it.

Numbers jumped after the expiration of a moratorium at the end of 2024, but rates of foreclosure rose across all loan types, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

The tool's launch comes as various sources report growth in both serious borrower delinquencies and foreclosure activity over the first few months of 2025.

Completed foreclosure sales reach their highest level since the second quarter of 2023, with a 20% quarter-to-quarter increase, Auction.com said.

The Wisconsin class action would retroactively award relief to some former homeowners and comes two years after a Supreme Court ruling in a similar case.

Sellers have roughly a month to bring transactions involving properties from the "claims without conveyance of title" and REO programs in line with the changes.