Data

In the third quarter, 1.4 million homeowners rose to the surface as their home values once again outranked their equity, according to the Zillow Negative Equity Report.

LRES, a California-based company specializing in commercial and residential valuations and asset management, announced it has received a Certificate of Authority to conduct business in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In Texas, Wingspan Portfolio Advisors named industry veteran Susan Pettem to the newly created position of EVP for business development.

October saw existing-home sales decline for the second straight month as low inventory propped up prices, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported Wednesday. Total existing-home sales fell 3.2 percent in October, coming out to an adjusted annual rate of 5.12 million. "The erosion in buying power is dampening home sales," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun. "Moreover, low inventory is holding back sales while at the same time pushing up home prices in most of the country."

Next year will likely be the first year since 2000 that home purchases outpace refinances, according to Freddie Mac's expectations.

A new report published by the Opportunity Agenda, National Fair Housing Alliance, and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) claims that the U.S. housing policy is broken.

Contrary to what some other sources are reporting, Realtor.com's National Housing Trend Report for October indicates the home buying season hasn't come to a close just yet.

The lending division of Carrington Mortgage Services (CMS), LLC appointed Kathy Pilgrim as branch manager of the company's branch in Duluth, Georgia.

RE/MAX is the latest company to report an expected seasonal slowdown for housing in October. The real estate network reported a month-over-month decline in sales figures and prices as the market began to chill. "What we're seeing now are predictable seasonal cycles, which is just another sign that the housing recovery is bringing us back to a more normal market," said RE/MAX CEO Margaret Kelly. Inventory remains diminished, though the company noted that losses have slowed in the past several months.

Diane Nordin, a seasoned asset management executive, has joined Fannie Mae's board of directors, the company announced.