News

The U.S. Treasury reported just under 23,000 permanent loan modifications completed under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) in November, bringing the total count to nearly 922,000. According to Treasury's data, homeowners have reduced their first-lien mortgage payments by a median of approximately $546 each month, or almost 40 percent of their median before-modification payment. Total estimated savings afforded by the program is $24.2 billion to date, Treasury reports.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray spoke to an audience in Phoenix, Arizona, to praise what he called the bureau's "back to basics" approach for the mortgage market.

Credit Plus, a mortgage information company with headquarters in Maryland, announced it has expanded its Undisclosed Debt Verifications service to offer updates from all three credit bureaus.

According to RealtyTrac's latest data, approximately 9.3 million residential properties in December had a combined loan amount at least 25 percent higher than their market value. The figure represents about 19 percent of all properties with a mortgage. That number was down from 10.7 million deeply underwater homes (about 23 percent of all properties) in September and 10.9 million (26 percent) at the beginning of 2013. Meanwhile, the number of "equity-rich properties" grew to 9.1 million.

Going forward, the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency (MassHousing) will maintain its policies and procedures using the AllRegs technology platform, the Minnesota-based information provider announced.

Having fallen to 16.6 percent in August, investor share in the purchase market picked up to 18.8 percent (based on a three-month rolling average), according to the latest survey. Investors increased their purchases of non-distressed properties; although, they remained the biggest purchasers of distressed properties. HousingPulse reports investors contributed to 13.2 percent of non-distressed home sales in November, marking a seven-month high.

According to a market report from FBR Capital Markets, bank stocks managed to outperform compared to many others. FBR says the improvement stemmed from rising investor expectations in response to interest rates moving higher and the economy showing signs of improvement. "However," FBR says, "we believe most banks will not be able to live up to these expectations as loan growth remains weak, pressures on margins still exist, and mortgage banking results should remain relatively poor."

The markets that were worst hit in the housing crisis remain among the top performers in the recovery, according to Trulia.

Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a diversified mortgage services company headquartered in Texas, named longtime industry expert Arleen Scavone to the newly created post of COO.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released Friday its Employment Situation Report, revealing job growth well below consensus forecasts. According to the government report, the U.S. economy added 74,000 jobs last month. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate dropped 0.3 percentage points to 6.7 percent, reflecting a precipitous drop in the labor force. BLS' report shows the labor force participation rate falling 0.2 percentage points to 62.8 percent.