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The Senator contends in his letter that only Congress can create government officers and that Congress has not given HUD the power to bestow an assistant secretary's responsibility onto a principal deputy assistant secretary. Grassley pointed out in his letter that Congress passed the Vacancies Reform Act in 1998 that provided several mechanisms to fill vacancies in government offices, and "[c]reating new job titles is not among the allowable mechanisms listed."

When the Federal Reserve concludes its monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, the nation could see increased interest rates for the first time in nine years. . . . Experts say there are dozens of factors that must be considered before the Fed can make a decision, and a questionable economy makes it even more difficult.

According to the survey, three of every 10 potential homebuyers intend to purchase a home in the next 18 months, and 62 percent think now is a better time to purchase than last year. In fact, 32 percent attribute their intent to buy to current low mortgage rates. Another 35 percent said if 30-year fixed mortgage rates were to rise above 4 percent, it would delay their purchase.

Cleveland, Ohio-based mortgage field services firm Safeguard Properties has announced the promotion of Michael Greenbaum to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO).

U.S. home prices for February were up by 4.6 percent year-over-year and 0.7 percent for the month, according to a home price index (HPI) report released by Black Knight Financial Services this morning. This is the largest monthly gain in home prices since June of last year.

As the August 1 deadline for the Truth in Lending/RESPA Integrated Disclosures (TRID) nears, lenders are preparing for the multiple ways their loan operation will be impacted by the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requirements.

Philadelphia-based LL Funds, which manages more than $1.5 billion market value non-Agency residential mortgage-backed securities, said in the white paper released Friday that the institutional investors' claims of non-performance on the part of Ocwen, made through law firm Gibbs and Bruns, are flawed.

FICO has announced it is expanding its Score Open Access program, which offers complimentary credit score access to consumers with credit management problems. Now, the program will also provide credit and financial counseling to approximately one million Americans.

The government alleges that Quicken had a "value appeal" process in place where Quicken would request an inflated value for a home appraisal if the appraisal was too low to approve for a loan, and that the lender granted "management exceptions" in which managers would allow underwriters to break the rules to approve a loan. According to the complaint, Quicken's most senior executives were aware of these practices based on several emails.

The report also reveals that the median sales price of homes sold in March was $277,000, while the average price was $343,000. Additionally, by the end of March, the number of new homes on the market was 213,000. At the current sales rate, this supply should last approximately 5.3 months. Results of the report are gathered through sample surveys, and the majority of houses are chosen randomly from selected building permits. Census field representatives collect the data, visit permit offices, and track when single-family units are started, completed and sold.