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The nation's economy rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter, slightly slower than economists had expected but more than six times the growth rate in the fourth quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced two individuals were added to the bureau's leadership team, and two current staff members will be serving in different roles.

CoreLogic, a leading residential property information, analytics, and services provider headquartered in California, announced its acquisition of Case-Shiller from Fiserv, Inc. The acquisition closed March 20. In addition to offering the Case-Shiller Indexes├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬Øwhich will be renamed the CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indexes├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┬ØCoreLogic will continue to offer its own Home Price Index (HPI), the company announced.

Mortgage fraud risk saw a slight increase last year, with the largest concentration located in the eastern half of the country, Interthinx revealed in its annual Mortgage Fraud Risk Report. According to the yearly report--based on analysis of loan applications processed throughout 2012 by Interthinx's FraudGUARD system--the 2012 Annual Mortgage Fraud Index was 150, a 3.4 percent rise from 2011's index reading of 145. The firm also observed a notable shift in fraud risk from west to east.

Housing starts are making a comeback with double-digit increases expected this year, but some states still face a long road to recovery, according to the NAHB.

loanDepot.com, based in Foothill Ranch, California, added Teri Felix to its executive leadership team. Felix joins the company as EVP and chief marketing officer.

Mortgage rates dipped last week--some of them hitting record lows--as unstable economic news left investors with visions of another potential economic slowdown.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance dropped for only the second time in the last six weeks, falling 16,000 to 339,000 for the week ending April 20, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected 350,000 initial claims. Initial jobless claims for the week ending April 13 were revised up to 355,000 from the originally reported 355,000.

Zillow's Home Value Index (HVI) rose to $157,600 as of the end of Q1, up 0.5 percent over Q4 2012 and 5.1 percent over the same time last year. Quarterly home value appreciation in the fourth quarter was 2.1 percent--indicating the market is slowing down to a more sustainable pace, says Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries. Looking ahead, the company's Home Value Forecast shows national home values rising 3.2 percent through March 2014, an annual appreciation rate in line with historic norms.

360 Mortgage Group, a privately owned mortgage banker operating out of Austin, Texas, announced Ron Summers has joined the team as its newest account executive. Summers, who has more than 12 years of mortgage lending and real estate experience, will report to Al Crisanty, VP of national wholesale production, as he works to expand relationships with high-quality mortgage brokers throughout Northern California.