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The drop in existing home sales reported by the National Association of Realtors Thursday likely stemmed from a lack of distressed properties on the market, according to IHS Global Insight. In May, existing-home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 from 4.62 million in April, which is a monthly decline of 1.5 percent, the NAR reported. Existing home sales were still up from a year ago in May 2011 by 9.6 percent. According to the NAR report, investor purchases made up 17 percent of homes sales in May, down from 20 percent in April and 19 percent in May 2011. The report also revealed that distressed home sales, or foreclosures and short sales, declined monthly and yearly as well.

Experts surveyed by Zillow expect home prices to decline slightly in 2012, and predict they will bottom in 2013, according to the June 2012 Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey. The survey included 114 respondents with backgrounds ranging from economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists. The respondents├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ó June prediction for home prices is that they will fall 0.4 percent in 2012, and then rise by 1.3 percent in 2013. In 2014, they expect home prices to rise by 2.5 percent, then rise by 3 percent in 2015.

New home sales jumped to 369,000 in May - the highest level since April 2010 - as the median and average home prices both fell, the Census Bureau and HUD said jointly Monday. Economists had expected sales to reach 350,000 from the prior month's 343,000. Sales increased 7.6 percent month-over-month, marking the first increase in three months, and were up 19.8 percent since May 2011. The median price of a new single-family home fell for the third straight month, dropping to $234,500, the lowest level since February.

Count another major downgrade against the global financial community. On Thursday Moody├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Investors Service slashed credit ratings for 15 major financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, among others. The reason for Moody├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós actions: The biggest banks face too much risk from debt-saddled Europe, earnings volatility, and still-faulty mortgages stateside. The ratings agency grouped the downgraded institutions into three groups. Stocks slid for many of the banks.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is preparing to kick off its 10th Annual Policy Summit on June 28, and this yeaR's two-day event will focus on methods for strengthening and rebuilding communities. In an official statement, the Cleveland Fed called the summit a chance to target effective strategies for economic development in our communities, with a particular emphasis on measurement." In an official statement, the Cleveland Fed called the summit a chance to target "effective strategies for economic development in our communities, with a particular emphasis on measurement."

n Utah, Celtic Bank has hired a mortgage industry veteran as the company's new vice president of business development. The bank recently announced the appointment of Steven L. Mathews to the leadership role.

Taylor Capital Group, Inc., is initiating a major expansion of its mortgage division. The group recently announced plans to double the number of branches for Cole Taylor Mortgage, which serves as the company's lending unit through Taylor Capital subsidiary, Cole Taylor Bank.

Realestalker.com is reporting that a major property acquisition is underway for Oracle founder, Larry Ellison. According to the website, the billionaire technology entrepreneur is set to purchase the Hawaiian island of Lanai for between $500 and $600 million.

An analysis of government data by the National Association of Home Builders revealed another issue that can be added to the list of economic changes caused by the housing slump: Rising student loan debt. Data shows that the onset of the housing crisis brought with it an increase in students taking out loans for higher education. Since the third quarter of 2008, student loan debt has increased by 47.9 percent ($293 million). This increase is attributed to the drop in the availability of home equity loans, according to the NAHB.

HomeStreet Bank is expanding its employer-assisted benefit options to a new region of Washington state. The community bank has announced the extension of its Hometown Home Loan Program to the Spokane area.