Government

First-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending August 17 rose 13,000 to 336,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists expected the number of claims to rise to 330,000 from the 320,000 originally reported for the week ending August 10. The number of filings for that week was bumped up to 323,000.

Anne-Marie Kuhlman is now Stewart Title's regional sales director for the state of Colorado, the company announced.

Existing-home sales soared 6.5 percent in July to an annual sales rate of 5.39 million--the highest level since November 2009--as the price of a single-family home slipped 0.2 percent.

Equifax has enhanced its retro income verification service, Point in Time, and integrated it into the company's Spectrum Verification Services Platform, the company announced.

Federal affordable housing efforts may be responsible for perpetuating racial segregation, the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) says in a new report. The report, titled "Choice Constrained, Segregation Maintained: Using Federal Tax Credits to Provide Affordable Housing," centers on an analysis of ten years of data on affordable housing developed under the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. The center obtained data from three tax credit allocation agencies in New York.

The Zillow Home Value Index reached $161,600 in July, up 0.4 percent from June and an even 6.0 percent from July 2012. July marked the 14th straight month of annual home value gains. Of the 393 metros tracked in July, 289 (73.5 percent) reported month-over-month price appreciation, and 303 (77.1 percent) showed annual appreciation. In addition, all areas saw both monthly and yearly appreciation, and all "have hit their bottom and are expected to show appreciation in the next 12 months."

NXTLoan | First American Mortgage Trust, a lender specializing in FHA 203(k) loans, hired Rob Philion as director of sales and national sales manager. Philion brings more than 14 years of experience in leadership positions at financial institutions to the company.

While inventory was down in July compared to last year and the prior month, the decreases were more conservative, which means home price gains should slow, according to RE/MAX's most recent housing survey. July inventory was 1.3 percent below the level in June and 20.7 percent lower compared to a year ago. However, inventory expanded month-over-month in 18 of the metros tracked. News for home sales was also positive, with closed transactions climbing 17 percent year-over-year and inching up 1.5 percent month-over-month.

Equity Loans LLC, a Georgia-based company with operations in more than 30 states, announced the additions of David Carr and Teresa Ciccolella and the promotion of Alison Raymond.

The National Association of Realtors announced a research partnership between Realtor University's Center for Real Estate Studies and the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA).