Servicing

Amid an improving commercial real estate market, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) predicts declining vacancy rates in all sectors of commercial real estate in the coming year. The greatest vacancy decline is expected among office properties. Office vacancies should fall about one percentage point over the year, dropping from 16.7 percent to 15.7 percent. While the smallest vacancy decline is expected in the multifamily sector, NAR states there is "a full recovery already in the multifamily market."

It seems more banks are eyeing the possibility of expansion in 2013, according to a survey sponsored by Crowe Horwath LLP. According to the results, 57 percent of banks intend to make some form of acquisition in the next year, up from last year's survey. Furthermore, many bankers expressed interest in acquisitions outside of their core banking franchises. Out of the banks that are looking at expanding, 28.8 percent said they intend to acquire a residential mortgage origination business in 2013.

Radian Guaranty, Inc., the mortgage insurance subsidiary of the Philadelphia-based Radian Group, announced its National Training department has trained more than 14,000 customers in 2012.

Supreme Lending, a Dallas-based nationwide mortgage banker with branches throughout the country, announced Brian Mitchell is joining the team as its new SVP and national sales manager. Mitchell is a 20-year veteran mortgage banker, having worked most recently as regional VP for Envoy Mortgage.

Consumer spending fell $20.2 billion in October as personal income remained relatively flat, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported Friday. The report was weaker than the 0.3 percent growth in income and 0.1 percent growth in spending economists had expected. While the report reflects a weak beginning to the fourth quarter, the disappointing growth largely comes from work interruptions brought by superstorm Sandy, which impacted 24 states, by BEA's estimation.

After forming during the housing downturn in 2007, Clear Title Agency decided to focus on generating revenue from REOs and foreclosures by handling title and escrow duties for banks. Through this strategy, Arizona-based Clear Title stated it has experienced 200 percent annual growth after five years in business.

Fixed mortgage rates showed little signs of life in the last full week of November, hovering near record lows as markets show increased worry about the fiscal cliff.

Zillow, Inc., announced its sixth acquisition in the last two years. The company has entered into an agreement to buy San Francisco-based HotPads, a map-based rental and real estate search site. The $16 million deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

Vericrest Financial, Inc., announced it will acquire about $2.7 billion in mortgage servicing rights (MSRs).

The Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) rose 5.2 percent to 104.8 in October, its highest level since March 2007, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, explained the jump by suggesting buyers are responding to favorable market conditions, noting "[w]e've had very good housing affordability conditions for quite some time, but we're seeing more impact now from steady job creation, and rising consumer confidence about home buying now that home prices have clearly turned positive."