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New Jersey-based Stonebridge Title Services has been ordered to pay $30,000 for allegedly offering kickbacks for business referrals, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced. "Kickbacks drive up the costs of getting a mortgage and put law-abiding companies at a disadvantage," said CFPB Director Richard Cordray with the release of the bureau's consent order.

A report published by Redfin's Research Center indicated that home inventory was up 9.1 percent in May. That number represents the highest number of new listings to come onto the market in the last four years. At the same time, the actual number of homes sold dropped 10 percent. The drop in actual sales surprised analysts, who had been predicting a flood of new home purchases once inventory was in greater supply.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported Friday that applications for new home purchases fell 8 percent from April to May, indicating a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 374,000 units. If the numbers play out that way, it will be the lowest pace of sales since July 2013. On an unadjusted basis, the association estimates there were 36,000 new home sales last month, a 14.3 percent decline from April.

In May, sales throughout the state totaled an estimated 37,734 units, down 0.7 percent from April and 14.4 percent from May 2013, according to DataQuick. The figure includes both new and existing homes as well as condos. Compared to the long-term May average, last month's sales were down 18.3 percent. "California sales haven't been above average for any particular month in more than eight years," the company said in its latest report.

In a survey of economists, the Wall Street Journal found optimism for housing starts through the rest of the year has dropped, thanks to a slow first half. To begin the year, the consensus view among economists participating in the survey was that housing starts would jump 20 percent this year, rising to 1.11 million units from a total of 924,900 in 2013. Now, that prediction is down to 1.05 million.

After nearly five and a half years spent trying to steer housing out of a ditch, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan is on his way out of that agency and into the Office of Management and Budget—but not before taking a victory lap. In an interview with the Washington Post, Donovan looked back on his time spent directing the agency, reflecting on memories ranging from the administration's reaction to Hurricane Sandy to its efforts to reduce homelessness.

NetDirector recently released two new products to further its mission of providing innovative cloud-based data and document exchange services.

For March, CoreLogic reports cash sales accounted for 38.7 percent of total home sales, down from 40.2 percent the prior month and 41 percent a year before. Due to the seasonal nature of the housing market, CoreLogic senior economist Molly Boesel said the year-over-year comparison provides a better picture of the decline in cash sales.

According to Freddie Mac, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) was 4.20 percent (0.6 point) for the week ending June 12, an increase of 6 basis points from last week's report. Last year, the 30-year FRM hovered just below 4.0 percent. The increase followed last week's release of the May jobs report, which showed payrolls performing more or less as expected.

In the midst of trying to maintain workflow with a smaller staff, there remains an increasing focus on effective appraisal analysis. Regulatory requirements, investor demands, corporate management, and now disclosure to the borrower have elevated the collateral analysis to the same level of scrutiny as financial analysis. Fortunately, great progress has been made in automated tools and services for appraisal analysis.