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Want to live like a kingpin? You're in luck, because according to Zillow, the Florida estate once belonging to Al Capone is on the market for $9.95 million. The legendary gangster moved into the stunning and storied house on Miami Beach's Palm Island in 1928, and he called the seaside property home before and after his imprisonment for tax evasion, living in the luxurious pad until his death in 1947.

Expanding its wholesale unit, First Guaranty Mortgage Corp. (FGMC) has appointed a new national wholesale sales manager. The company recently announced that Industry veteran Patricia Trimble has been hired to fill the leadership position.

Looks like the dragon will have to step aside: 2012 is now "The Year of the Housing Recovery," according to RE/MAX. The real estate giant released its National Housing Report for August 2012 (covering July), showing that both sales and prices have posted year-over-year increases for most of 2012. Home sales appear to have peaked year-to-date in June, with July's sales falling 9.4 percent month-over-month. However, sales were up 10.3 percent from July 2011, marking the 13th consecutive month for year-over-year sales gains.

In California, high-end homebuyers have the chance to own a piece of architectural history. According to Curbed, a Usonian home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright has hit the San Anselmo market for $2.5 million.

Wells Fargo faces litigation from Best Medical, Inc., part of Virginia-based TeamBest, which creates and distributes medical products and technology. The litigation, which originated in spring 2010, was elevated to the U.S. federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, about two weeks ago. Best Medical alleges Wells Fargo discriminated against the company when calling commercial mortgage loans. The company claims its commercial mortgage loans were fully performing, and submitted payments upfront.

Home sales and prices climbed in California in July, with median prices nearing a four-year high, according to the California Association of Realtors. The trade group found closed escrow sales approaching a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 529,230 in July for single-family homes, up 2 percent from June. Sales ticked up to 15.3 percent in July year-over-year. That month marked the fifth straight time that California's median home price went up month-over-month and year-over-year.

Ellie Mae has released the results from its commissioned study on community banks, and the findings reveal that smaller financial institutions fear the effect that new housing finance regulations could have on their mortgage businesses. The survey, which was conducted by T. Aloise & Company, showed that 51 percent of community bank executives listed changing compliance standards as their most significant challenge.

Times haven├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ót been too swell for the Federal Housing Administration. That was apparent, by some accounts, when the agency raised insurance premiums for lenders of single-family mortgages in February, a choice it made to shore up its crisis-weary Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund. Now, according to Fitch Ratings, a new tide of mortgage delinquencies and price declines may tip the fund back toward troubled waters ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô and possibly insolvency. A down-payment requirement on its may well worsen matters for the FHA.

Trulia announced Friday that it filed an initial public offering, with major banks and financial institutions lining up behind the move. The real estate website opened up shares of common stock by filing registration papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Consumers may rejoice to hear about increased banking regulations, but community bankers don├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ót feel the same way. A study released Thursday by Ellie Mae found that community bankers see increasing regulations as the biggest immediate challenge to their mortgage businesses. The survey group was made up of 34 banks, both clients and non-clients of Ellie Mae. The study examined the ways that community banks approach the consumer banking and mortgage markets, as well as the effects of market conditions on these banks.