Data

New home sales fell 7.3 percent in December to 369,000, the sharpest monthly drop in almost two years, the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development reported Friday. The monthly drop in sales was the largest since February 2011. Nonetheless, December 2012 sales were up 8.8 percent over December 2011. Sales for September, October, and November were revised higher, with the November sales pace reported as 398,000, up from the originally reported 377,000.

While some analysts have been speculating over when the economy will return to its "normal" state, Fannie Mae says slow growth is the "new normal."

The top commercial real estate lender in the United States, Wells Fargo & Company, recently announced plans to carry its commercial real estate division overseas to the United Kingdom to fill what the company says is a gap in the U.K. market.

Envoy Mortgage, a Houston, Texas-based retail mortgage originator and servicer, is expanding its operations to include correspondent lending, helping fill a void as many financial institutions exit the space.

Florida's housing market continued on the course to recovery in December, according to the latest data released by Florida Realtors.

Nationwide Title Clearing, Inc. (NTC) released a new white paper detailing the recently enacted "California Homeowner Bill of Rights."

A report from Kroll Factual Data, Inc., shows the risk of mortgage fraud rose 1.1 percent throughout the country between the second and third quarters of 2012.

Positive economic and housing news lifted fixed mortgage rates to their highest level in months this week. According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 3.42 (0.7 point) for the week ending January 24, up from 3.38 percent last week. The last time the average 30-year reading was this high was September 29 of last year, Freddie Mac said. Frank Nothaft, VP and chief economist for Freddie Mac, said the rise in fixed rates is unlikely to deter the housing recovery.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance fell to another five-year low for the week ending January 19, dropping 5,000 to 330,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected claims to increase to 360,000 from the prior week. The previous week's report was unchanged at 365,000, which had been the lowest level since January 2008.

On behalf of the FDIC, First Financial Network, Inc. (FFN) is selling $85 million in loans from the failed NOVA Bank based in Berwyn, Pennsylvania.