The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Quicken Loans, Inc., Thursday, in a case that bars lenders from splitting settlement fees with third parties. The decision upholds an interpretation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act that gives lenders leeway when it comes to charging fees. It rejects a longstanding HUD policy that interpreted the law to include a flat ban on unearned fees. Much of the contention surrounded previous guidance issued by HUD supporting the view that the legal framework prohibits lenders from charging unearned fees.
With the hope that whistleblowers will sound their horn, the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities (RMBS) Working Group launched website for insiders to report fraud, the Justice Department announced in a statement. The RMBS Working Group was created in late January 2012 to investigate abuses and fraud in the RMBS market that only exacerbated the financial crises. While still a fairly new group, the unit has been criticized for its slow progress.
Consumer confidence is at a level that hasn't been seen for years, according to the results of Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan's Survey of Consumers for May. Thomson Reuters and UM released the findings of the consumer survey, revealing that the consumer sentiment index improved to 79.3 percent in the month of May, an increase of 3.8 percent from April and 6.7 percent from May 2011. Consumer confidence has improved in each survey for the past nine months, but May's level is the highest since October 2007.
According to a press release, Military Veterans Association of Real Estate Professionals (MVAREP) was formed to "level the playing field" for military veterans trying to buy homes with a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) loan. In many cases, VA appraisers are brought in to insure the loan and make sure the purchase is a good investment for the buyer. This process sometimes throws off listing agents and sellers who want to take an easier route.
Competition can lead to low prices, but sometimes when prices get too low, someone ends up paying. This is an issue the appraisal industry is facing, where appraisal management companies (AMCs) compete for clients by lowering the cost of appraisals, leading to less compensation for the appraisers. In a white paper, Jeff Schurman, executive director of Leading Causes and Rick Grant, president and CEO of RGA Public Relations, listed and explained 20 benefits for AMCs if they pay appraisers full fees.
Zillow issued a released Friday reporting that both national home values and rents rose in the month of April. According to the April Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, national home values rose 0.7 percent in April to a Zillow Home Value Index of $147,300. This is the largest monthly increase in home values since January 2006, and it makes April the second month in a row in which home values climbed up. Zillow also reported that rents rose from March to April, increasing by 1.6 percent, according to the Zillow Rent Index.
Rogers Townsend & Thomas, PC, announced Thursday the addition of Nina Shor as special counsel to serve as city executive in the firm's Charlotte office.
Bank of America and Barclays Bank PLC agreed to sell their remaining 26.5 percent interest in Archstone to Equity Residential and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., BofA announced Friday in a statement.The purchase price for the remaining interest in Archstone, a privately-held owner, operator and developer of multifamily apartment properties, is $1.58 billion.
In its May foreclosure newsletter, RealtyTrac named the top 10 places to buy foreclosures in 2012. The selected locations were out of the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas based on population. The list was further narrowed down according markets with at least 200 foreclosure-related sales transactions in January 2012. Then, it was whittled down again to only include metros with foreclosure sales prices at least 30 percent below the average price of a non-foreclosure property.
FDIC-insured banks and savings institutions reported a total profit of $35.3 billion in the first quarter of 2012, a $6.6 billion increase from the $28.8 billion net income reported in the 2011 first quarter. The increase marks the 11th consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains. The number of "problem" institutions dropped to the smallest number since year-end 2009. "Problem" institutions declined from 813 to 772, with total assets of "problem" institutions shrinking from $319 billion to $292 billion.
The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), along with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Treasury issued a fraud alert Thursday warning the armed services community about scams targeting homeowners seeking mortgage assistance. The alert specifically warned about scammers attempting to exploit the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), which can provide mortgage relief for struggling homeowners through modified payments.
Freddie Mac released its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for May on Wednesday, pointing to the available data as an encouraging sign for housing and the economy in 2012-3. The release details information gathered about economic growth and housing markets over the first quarter of 2012. Although not all of the data is positive, the outlook stated that the data for the most part "trend in the right direction."
While seeming to recover, the housing market is still undoubtedly fragile, and there are millions of underwater borrowers who continue to struggle with making payments. While HARP proposes to address these concerns, the program has been limited in its ability to reach the masses. Through the Responsible Homeowner Refinancing Act of 2012 introduced by Democratic Sens. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Barbara Boxer (D-California), a new HARP 3.0 would break down barriers preventing millions more from refinancing. During a hearing on Thursday before a senate subcommittee, industry experts and leaders offered testimony on how the proposed legislation could impact the economy.
Total Mortgage is adding an additional 2000 square-foot office space which will house the company's senior leadership. The new space will be part of the same building complex where Total Mortgage's origination and operation centers are located.
Fixed rate mortgages were little changed this week after falling and breaking record lows, according to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.78 percent (0.8 point) for the week ending May 24, down slightly from last week when it averaged 3.79 percent. The 15-year rate was unchanged from last week's average at 3.04 percent (0.7 point). Bankrate.com reported little movement as well in its weekly survey.
Rubin Lublin, LLC announced Wednesday the appointment of senior partner Peter Lublin to president of the Real Property Section of the State Bar of Georgia. Lublin, a co-founder of Rubin Lublin, has been a senior partner since the firm formed in spring 2009.
First time claims for unemployment insurance dipped to 370,000 for the week ended May 19 from the previous week's upwardly revised reading of 372,000 the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists had expected the report would show 371,000 initial claims.
About 15.7 million U.S. homeowners were underwater in the first quarter of 2012, according Zillow's Negative Equity Report released Thursday. Yet, most underwater homeowners are current on their mortgages, with nine in 10 continuing to make their payments on time. Also, just 10.1 percent of underwater homeowners are more than 90 days delinquent, Zillow reported.
Home prices for GSE-backed mortgages rose 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the previous 2011 fourth quarter, according to FHFA's purchase-only home price index (HPI). Prices also showed a 0.5 percent increase from the year ago first quarter, and month-over-month, prices increased 1.8 percent in March. The purchase only HPI uses home sales price information from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans and includes more than 6 million repeat sales transactions.
New home sales rose 3.3 percent month-over-month in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, the Commerce Department and HUD reported Wednesday. On a yearly basis, new home sales rose 9.9 percent. And, the good news did not end there. This report was followed by the National Association of Realtor's existing home sales report released Tuesday, which showed the sale of existing homes rose 3.4 percent on a monthly basis and 10 percent year-over-year. In comparison to the sale of existing homes, Paul Diggle, property economist with Capital Economics, said new home sales will still continue to lag behind the existing home sales market, and one of the reasons for this is competition with discounted foreclosures and short sales.
Old Republic International Corporation (ORI) announced Monday it sold off 20.6 percent of common equity interest in Republic Financial Indemnity Group Inc. (RFIG) to a group of investors in a partial leveraged buyout (LBO).
Ellie Mae announced Wednesday that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company a patent for an advanced security model that enables managers, loan officers, and processors to securely access loan files and documents online.
The patent is for an invention that allows multiple ownership of system files and resources while maintaining organizational control and security rules over users.
Senators Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island), Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), and Mark Begich (D-Alaska) are sponsoring a bill to expand protections for military members in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden is also supporting the bill, known as the Servicemember Housing Protection Act (S. 3179), which has been has been referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
The Texas Taxpayers and Research Association: (TTARA) released a report analyzing the findings of performance audits in Texas' 253 central appraisal districts (CAD). The report, titled "Equal and Uniform...sort of," compiles the results of reviews of local appraisal districts performed by the Property Tax Assistance Division (PTAD), housed at the State Comptroller's Office. The purpose of the evaluation was to see if appraisal districts in the state have the necessary tools to appraise property at its fair market value.
New homes sales rose 3.3 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 343,000, the Commerce Department and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Wednesday (May 23). Sales for March were revised upward from 328,000 to 332,000. Sales for March were revised upward from 328,000 to 332,000. Economists had expected the report to show a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 335,000 for new home sales in April. New home sales in April were up 9.9 percent from April 2011, the seventh straight month of year-over-year increases.
The FDIC reportedly filed suit Friday against a number of large bank holding companies, including Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan Chase. Reuters reported that the FDIC seeks to recoup some $92 million for two banks that failed in 2009. Speaking with MReport, FDIC spokesperson David Barr declined to comment on the story.
For the full details visit our sister publication at theMReport.com.
The California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) reported today that, although pending home sales in the state fell from March to April, other statistics indicate a good start for the housing market. C.A.R.'s Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) fell from a revised 138.9 in March to 128.0 in April. This index was nearly 14 points higher than the revised 114.4 index from April 2011, marking the 12th consecutive month that pending sales were higher year-over-year. Pending home sales figures are often used as an indicator of the market's future direction.
With low rates and low prices, homeowner affordability continues to hit record levels, reaching another high for the first quarter of 2012, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI). During the previous record-breaking 2011 fourth quarter, 75.9 percent of homes sold were affordable to median-income earners. For this most recent quarter, HOI data showed 77.5 percent of all new and existing homes sold were affordable to families earning the national median income of $65,000.
The take on the state of the housing market, according to Capital Economics, is that the U.S. is currently in recovery mode. Although other reports may contend the bottom is yet to be reached, the research firm points to increasing home sales and the drop in excess supply, which leads to price gains, as reasons to believe the U.S. is beyond bottoming out. Data released on Tuesday from the National Association of Realtors backs what Capital Economics had to say. The NAR reported a rise in existing home sales in April after a two-month drop and a rise in prices. Even with positive reports on the housing market, the question of how long this will last still remains.
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced Tuesday that it has fined Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., $3.5 million for providing inaccurate mortgage perform information, among other violations. This inaccurate data may have led investors to make faulty decisions, FINRA said. FINRA found that Citigroup posted inaccurate mortgage performance data on its website from January 2006 to October 2007. This information stayed up until May 2012 despite reason to believe the data might not be accurate. Citigroup was informed several times that the posted information was faulty, but it did not fix the problem until May this year.
RE/MAX announced Monday that its global site, Global.remax.com, has drawn in nearly 750,000 unique visitors who have generated 18 million page views in six months.
George B. Flessas intended to retire in the Philippines after selling his REO firm back in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Instead of settling, living in a new country inspired him to start another venture due to a need he saw for a nationwide Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and the low cost to operate a business in the Philippines.
The podcast, titled From the Bar: Inside Compliance with Roger Fendelman, will focus on the industry's toughest compliance issues. The program is meant to explain rulemaking by the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and to answer concerns that lenders have had.
PHH Corporation announced Monday that David E. Tucker has been appointed president of PHH Mortgage Corporation, a service and mortgage origination subsidiary of PHH. Tucker is succeeding Smriti Laxman Popenoe, PHH Mortgage's interim president since March 2012.
Existing-home sales rose to 4.62 million (seasonally adjusted annualized rate) in April from an downwardly revised March rate of 4.47 million, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Tuesday. Economists had forecast the April sales pace would be 4.66 million. The median price of an existing home climbed 10.1 percent to $177,400 from $161,100 in April 2011, the strongest year-to-year gain since January 2006. The median price in April reached its highest level since July 2010 when it was $182,100. The median price of an existing home rose month-to-month and year-to-year in all four regions.
Through the $25 billion robo-signing settlement between federal and state officials and the five largest banks - Bank of America, Citi, J.P. Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally - $10 billion was set aside for principal reductions. According Fitch Ratings, the funds set aside for writing down principal will have little impact on private label residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS). Fitch stated that the private label result of principal reduction through the settlement will likely reach only 10 percent of underwater borrowers. Overall, Fitch estimates there is about $203 billion in negative equity for private-label RMBS.
Lender Processing Services (LPS) provided a peak into month-end data for mortgage performance in April 2012, and reported after 9 months of declines, mortgage delinquencies increased. The total delinquency rate for loans 30 days or more past due but not in foreclosure was 7.12 percent, a 0.4 percent month-over-month increase. Compared to a year ago, the delinquency rate was down by 10.6 percent.
The report, put together by IHS U.S. Regional Economist Steven Frable, stated that Alaska, North Dakota, Texas, and Louisiana have all reached or passed their prerecession employment levels, with Alaska and North Dakota reporting peak employment in 2010-11. These four states are also experiencing the most benefits from the current energy boom. Many other states have bounced almost all the way back, coming within 1 percent of their employment peaks.
If the buzz about bidding wars is true, Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey reported those accounts did not boost prices in its findings. Homes are selling below the list price, and if a home is subject to a bidding war, the high offer becomes quashed by lower appraisals. According to the report, homes sold in April received only two or three offers, and average home prices declined slightly from March to April.
Memphis Invest announced Monday that it has sold 229 homes to out-of-town, independent investors since January in a run-up to a recent investor weekend. Memphis Invest hosted the investor weekend May 11-13 in order to showcase local single-family rental properties and to demonstrate Memphis' strengths as a rental market.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency closed down Alabama Trust Bank, National Association, of Sycalaugua, Alabama over the weekend, marking the first Alabama bank failure and the 24th national failure this year.
When it comes to handling foreclosure inventory, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS (C.A.R.) has made it clear it does not see the need for government intervention in its state. The association recently announced its support for California Congressmen Gary Miller (R-Brea) and seven California lawmakers for introducing legislation that calls for the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to halt its plan to sell Fannie Mae REO properties to institutional investors through bulk sales in California.
According to a survey conducted by Money Management International, struggling homeowners are reluctant to seek professional mortgage relief help.
The survey found that half of respondents would first seek help from a family member or friend.
Just days after Bank of America officially announced its nationwide program offering up to $30,000 in relocation assistance for short sales, a Massachusetts-based real estate company revealed in a blog that one of its clients was approved to receive $10,000. In order to be eligible for the relocation assistance, BofA stated that the short sale must be initiated by the end of this year and close by September 26, 2013. Also, the amount offered is determined on a case-by-case basis, with variables such as the value of the home and amount owed factored into the equation.
While the housing market is starting to show signs that it is strengthening, for some states, recovery still seems to be in the very distant future. According to a report from Capital Economics, one factor that will determine the speed of recovery for individual states is the type of foreclosure procedure. Paul Diggle, author of the report, said that many of the judicial states, which are struggling to clear their backlog of foreclosures, will lag behind during recovery. However, Rob Pitingolo, research assistant with the Urban Institute, noted that it's not the judicial process itself that is the problem, but a lack of resources.
MGIC Investment Corporation announced Thursday that its Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation subsidiary filed a lawsuit against Freddie Mac and its conservator, FHFA. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the dispute is in regards to a disagreement over aggregate loss limit under certain pool insurance policies.
The RE/MAX: National Housing Report found that the national median home price rose for the third straight month in April, indicating that the housing recovery in 2012 is continuing. The report surveyed 53 metropolitan areas and found that the median home price was $161,000, 3.2 percent higher than in March and 5.9 percent higher than in April 2011. February marked the first time in 18 months that home prices experienced an increase, and data from March and April shows a positive trend.
Fitch Ratings released a report projecting another 7.8 percent drop in U.S. home prices before the market reaches sustainability, according to the rating agency's fourth quarter sustainable home price (SHP) report. This is a decrease from last quarter's prediction of a 9.1 percent drop. As long as economic growth is steady and inflation runs close to 3 percent annually, Fitch believes home prices will finally hit bottom in late 2013, and then move towards a slow recovery.
While the U.S. housing market appears to be on the road to recovery, it will be a rather patchy one, with some regions seeing home prices rise as high as 5 percent and others falling flat, according to a report released from the Demand Institute, which is jointly operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen.
According to the report, three variables will indicate the speed of recovery for individual states: state-level unemployment rates, the proportion of foreclosure inventory relative to total inventory, and the extent of recent price declines.
According to numbers released by DataQuick, last month's home sales numbers in Southern California experienced a modest climb from last year. Median home sales prices in Southland rose year-over-year in April for the first time in 16 months. The median price paid for a home in Southland was $290,000 this year, up from $280,000 in March 2012 and April 2011. This increase is attributed to gains in the region's coastal counties, where home sales made up 71.5 percent of the area's total, an increase from last year's 68 percent. Also cited as cause for this year's higher numbers is the fact that foreclosed and discounted properties made up a smaller portion of sales.
Gateway Mortgage Group is expanding its operations with a new branch in Omaha, Nebraska.
The new location will be staffed by eight loan officers, including Kent Geschwender, a former branch manager of MetLife Home Loans. The Omaha branch will be the company's largest.
Just when it seemed like they could not fall any further, fixed-rate mortgages continued to drop, breaking record-low numbers once again, according to Freddie Mac's weekly mortgage market survey. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.79 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending May 17, slipping from last week's average of 3.83 percent. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage also fell, ending the week at 3.04 percent (0.7 point). Bankrate.com, which releases a weekly survey using data provided by the top 10 banks and thrifts in the top 10 markets, reported a record-low average for the 30-year fixed, which dropped below 4 percent.
First time claims were unchanged at 370,000 for the week ended May 12 after the number of initial claims filed for the previous week was revised upward, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists had expected initial claims would decrease to 365,000. The Labor Department had initially reported 367,000 claims filed for the week ended May 5. The revision turned that report to an increase of 2,000 from a previously reported decline of 1,000. Continuing claims - reported on a one week lag - increased 18,000 to 3,265,000 after the preceding week's report was bumped up to 3,247,000 from an originally reported 3,269,000, coincidentally another 18,000 increase from the original report.
Foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - totaled 188,780 in April 2012, which is the lowest monthly total since July 2007, according to RealtyTrac's Foreclosure Market Report. April foreclosure activity also fell 5 percent from the previous month and was down 14 percent from a year ago in April. When analyzing foreclosure activity according to judicial processes, non-judicial states declined both yearly and monthly, while judicial states decreased monthly but not yearly.
Buying a home is the biggest financial investment many people will ever make. It's also an investment that, in recent years, has become lost for millions. According to data from CoreLogic, since September 2008, there have been 3.5 million completed foreclosures. Through counseling, HUD found homeowners are more likely to stay in their properties, even when facing foreclosure.
HUD released reports on two types of counseling: pre-purchase and foreclosure prevention. In both studies, HUD found housing counseling significantly improved the likelihood homeowners remained in their homes. For those who enrolled into pre-purchase counseling, HUD found that 35 percent of participants became homeowners within 18 months of pre-purchase counseling and only one of those buyers fell behind on mortgage payments.
Auction.com announced that Andrew Platt will be the new managing director for the New York-based capital markets team.
Platt is a former senior member of the fixed income teams at UBS, Bank of America and Lehman Brothers.
RealtyProx announced the release of an updated version of its short sale processing software developed to automate short sale transactions and save time for real estate professionals.
Nationwide Title Clearing (NTC) met with members of Congress and their staff on April 19 to discuss residential mortgage industry issues and to offer the company's support as a resource.
On a national level, delinquency rates and foreclosure starts decreased on a quarterly and yearly basis in the first quarter of 2012, with foreclosure inventory the exception, which increased slightly compared to the previous quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The delinquency rate was 7.40 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the first quarter of 2012 compared to the 2011 fourth quarter rate of 7.58 percent and the year ago quarter's 8.32 percent. Foreclosure inventory, on the other hand, saw a small quarterly increase of 1 basis point after ending at 4.39 percent in the 2012 first quarter.
Housing permits dipped in April for the first time in four months, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported jointly Wednesday but housing starts improved. Both indicators remained far above year-earlier levels. The month-over-month increase in starts in April appeared still larger because of a downward revision to March's report. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected permits to drop month-over-month and starts to increase.
The Consumer Distress Index, published by CredAbility, found the average U.S. household is under less financial stress these days, most likely due to factors such as added jobs and the mild winter weather this year. Overall, U.S. households scored 69.9 out of 100 points, with a score under 70 indicating a state of financial distress. While still 0.1 points shy of rising above the distress category, the score is an improvement from the previous quarter's 67.6. Also, 69.9 is the highest score since the 2008 third quarter and the 2.3 point increase from the previous quarter is the highest quarterly jump in seven years.
After suffering from bad loans during the financial crisis, Ally Financial looks to close the books on its share of ownership in the mortgage business. Executives with Ally took to the phone with investors Tuesday to explain a filing for bankruptcy protection Monday by subsidiary Residential Capital LLC. The consensus: Residential mortgage loans are out for Ally and auto finance is back in the center. Ally will still subservice loans via ResCap while it serves as counterparty to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The housing recovery will come in two phases. First, home prices will rise by just under 1 percent in the second half of 2012. In 2013, prices will rise by 1.5 percent, then go up another 2.5 percent in 2014. For the second phase, home prices will increase 3 to 3.5 percent between 2015 and 2017. These are the predictions from a report released by the Demand Institute, which is jointly operated by The Conference Board and Nielsen. The report, titled The Shifting Nature of U.S. Housing Demand, stated investors who buy rental properties will lead phase one of the recovery, as opposed to buyers who purchase properties as their own residence.
Nationwide, the number of homes listed for sale has fallen 21 percent from a year ago, according to Pro Teck Valuation Services' May Home Value Forecast. Also, the forecast reported Months of Remaining Inventory (MRI) is at 6.3 months, which is the lowest level since 2006. A strong market will have 0 to 5 months of inventory, a balanced market 6 to 10 months, and a soft market will have 11 to 15 months. From 2002 to 2005, when the housing market was booming, the national MRI was at or below 5 months.
With vacant homes stretching the capacity of banks' balance sheets and homebuyer demand lackluster at best, short sales are becoming a top loss mitigation choice for private lenders and investors, particularly in especially hard-hit markets. According to Barclays Capital, the benefits of pursuing a short sale are compelling for servicers and investors who are able to liquidate delinquent loans in an expedited fashion with fewer payment and interest (P&I) advances and who take "quasi" possession of the property in better condition and at better prices than REO, lowering severities.
Builder confidence jumped five points in in May to 29, its highest level since May 2007, the National Association of Home Builders reported Tuesday. Economists had expected the index to edge up to 26 in May. The month-month increase was the largest since April 2009. The total index in May was up 13 points from May 2011, the strongest year-over-year gain since April 2004. All three components of the index - current sales, sales six months out, and buyer traffic - showed strong increases in May, with buyer traffic and current sales conditions each rising five points while the projection of sales six months ahead increased three points.
For the first time since 2002, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that income for its members increased in 2011. The median income of a member rose 2.3 percent to $34,900 in 2011. Members who are licensed as brokers typically earned $48,400 in 2011, while the median for sales agents was $27,200.
For NAR members who have 16 or more years of experience, income earned was $50,200. Members working 60 hours a week or more earned $80,900, and 17 percent of all members had a six-figure income.
According to a report from Foreclosure-Response.org, the serious delinquency rate, which includes loans 90 or more days past due plus foreclosures, increased for the first time after a downward trend between December 2009 and June 2011. Serious delinquencies rose from 9.2 percent in June 2011 to 9.7 percent in December 2011 for the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas. While the 90-plus delinquencies component of the percentage was flat at 3.8 percent and has remained largely unchanged for the past four quarters, foreclosure rates continue to rise, and now stand at 5.9 percent. In June 2011, the foreclosure rate was 5.5 percent.
REO Allegiance, a national property preservation firm, recently announced that its president and CEO Lisa Sadaoui has been nominated and selected as a Leading Woman Entrepreneur and Business Owner of New Jersey by New Jersey Monthly Magazine. Nominees were selected for the award based on innovation, market potential, community involvement, and advocacy for women.
Out of seven different categories of fraud reported by depository institutions, mortgage loan fraud (MLF) saw the second great increase from 2010 to 2011 and had the highest number of suspicious activity report (SAR) filings, according to a report from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. MLF SARs increased nearly 31 percent to 92,028 in 2011 compared to 70,472 in 2010. Consumer loan fraud saw an even greater increasing, spiking 127 percent after reaching 32,285 filings in 2011 compared to 14,194 SARs in 2010.
Ally Financial announced Monday that its mortgage arm Residential Capital (ResCap) filed for bankruptcy, enabling the bank to focus on strategies to pay back remaining bailout funds still owed to Treasury. ResCap filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Manhattan federal court, and Ally announced it will sell some its international operations to pay back Treasury. The financial institution will also focus on strengthening its auto and banking businesses.
It will take 46 months to clear the market's supply of distressed homes, or the shadow inventory, according to estimates from Standard & Poor's Rating Services based on first-quarter 2012 data. While national residential mortgage liquidation rates appeared stable over the first three months of this year, these rates varied widely between local markets. Regional variations in how quickly servicers can clear the backlog of nonperforming loans are primarily due to differences in foreclosure procedures. S&P says its months-to-clear estimate in judicial states is almost 2.5x as long as non-judicial states.
