Headlines

CoreLogic released data on cash home sales today, finding that cash sales made up 37.9 percent of total home sales nationally in February 2015, down from last year's total of 40.6 percent. February 2015 will mark the 26th consecutive month that the share has dropped year-over-year since January 2013.

In its second year, the National Appraisal Congress—a Five Star Institute membership group formed to advocate on behalf of appraisal professionals and the valuations industry—has signed property software and technology provider Aspen Grove Solutions as a returning National Sponsor.

A new Quicken Loans study reveals that appraiser home value opinions fell below homeowner estimates in April according to the company’s Home Price Perception Index (HPPI). Quicken Loans is the nation’s second largest retail mortgage lender.

Goldman Sachs has been ordered by arbitrators to pay approximately $100 million to National Australia Bank (NAB) for a "conflict of interest" regarding mortgage-backed securities sales in the run-up to the mortgage meltdown, according to media reports.

Property-centric technology solutions provider Aspen Grove Solutions (AGS), based in Frederick, Maryland, has announced the addition of Levittown, Pennsylvania-based property preservation and repair company Guardian Asset Management has been added to AGS' list of clients.

DocMagic announced in a recent press release that its eSign platforms have reached more than 100 million mortgage-related eSignatures. DocMagic provides compliant loan document preparation services, compliance, eSign, and eDelivery solutions.

According to the latest quarterly report by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), home prices have increased in the majority of metro areas included for Q1 2015. A high demand for housing along with low inventory levels caused prices to go up significantly and areas that experienced double-digit price appreciation doubled compared to last quarter.

Nationwide Biweekly Administration, Inc., Loan Payment Administration LLC, and the company’s owner, Daniel Lipsky, are being sued by the Consumer Financial Bureau (CFPB) in federal district court. The CFPB claims that Nationwide falsely advertises the interest savings consumers will achieve through a biweekly mortgage payment program called the “Interest Minimizer” and deceives consumers about the price of the program.

The House Financial Services Committee has issued subpoenas to two federal government agencies and a branch of the central bank requesting information and documents regarding the government's "too big to fail" designation and the Obama Administration's debt ceiling, according to an announcement Monday on the Committee's website.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research’s (NBER’s) new working paper “Why Do Cities Matter? Local Growth and Aggregate Growth”, high-productivity markets are not the main contributors to economic growth due to limited housing affordability options.