Short sales

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

For the third time in recent years, the city of Owensboro, Ky., has launched what it calls a "mass foreclosure," taking aim at 33 properties to satisfy unpaid property taxes and property maintenance liens.

A decade ago, a home in Connecticut could be sold to another party about 12 months after a borrower stopped paying a mortgage.

Modification activity increased slightly in January over December as servicers worked their way through the remaining Home Affordable Mortgage Program applications.

Bank of America has completed its legal settlement obligation with the Department of Justice to provide $7 billion in consumer relief nearly two years ahead of schedule.

HSBC has met the consumer relief requirements set out under the National Mortgage Settlement, according to the latest report from the settlement's monitor.

Two former executives of the failed GulfSouth Private Bank in Destin, Fla., and another man have been indicted on federal charges of defrauding the Troubled Asset Relief Program of $7.5 million.

A regulatory 2017 scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac calls on the firms to transfer a significant portion of credit risk to third-party private investors on at least 90% of unpaid principal balance of newly acquired single-family mortgages.

During the third quarter, the negative equity rate dropped to 10.9%, representing roughly 5.3 million homeowners, from 13.4% a year before, Zillow reported.

Millions of consumers' credit reports will no longer reflect past mortgage problems, which could open up borrowing opportunities for many of them.

Loan modification activity fell again on a monthly basis, but there are still several states where borrowers need assistance, according to the Hope Now alliance.

Bank of America is approaching the consumer-relief target set in its mortgage settlement with the Department of Justice and six states, according to the settlement's monitor.

Community development entities like New Jersey Community Capital and Hogar Hispano are being guaranteed a portion of the secondary market for distressed mortgages. They are doing a good job of forestalling foreclosures, but skeptics question whether that run will last.

There was a decline in loan modification activity in May both for year-over-year and month-to-month comparisons, according to the Hope Now alliance.

Millions of Americans lost their homes to foreclosures or short sales during the housing crisis. Fortunately for the economy, time heals most wounds — and credit reports.

The Dec. 31 expiration of the Home Affordable Modification Program will have a limited negative effect on residential mortgage-backed securities from 2008 or earlier, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The number of loan modification made in April dropped 4% from the previous month, according to the Hope Now alliance.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a proposal Wednesday to codify recent changes to its reverse mortgage program and to provide additional protections for seniors, including a cap on annual interest rate increases.

It's taken nine years, but the number of U.S. homes in foreclosure has fallen to a level not seen since before the 2008 housing crisis.

Appraisal management company Solidifi has acquired Linear Title & Closing, a provider of national title searches and mortgage closing services.