Tag Archives: Attorneys & Title Companies

Single-family homes, condominiums, and townhomes sold at an annualized rate of 5.7 million in September, according to numbers from RealtyTrac. September's figures were up 2 percent month-over-month and 14 percent year-over-year, with investors making the biggest impact, particularly in markets where prices have yet to cross the $200,000 mark. "The housing market continues to skew in favor of investors, particularly deep-pocketed institutional investors, and other buyers paying with cash," said Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac.

JPMorgan Chase announced it has come to agreements to close the book on claims surrounding mortgage-backed securities and rep and warranty repurchase claims from FHFA and the GSEs.

Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) president and CEO David Stevens took the stage at the group's 100th Annual Convention and Expo Monday morning, reflecting on the last century in housing and shining a spotlight on today's challenges. While he notes that the government's response to the economic crisis has seen its share of successes, he also says Washington needs to recognize and take responsibility for the shortcomings of its policies, a step he believes policymakers have been reluctant to take.

The National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Pending Home Sales Index (PHSI) for September indicates home sales will stumble in the year's final quarter as buyers struggle with declining home affordability. "This tells us to expect lower home sales for the fourth quarter, with a flat trend going into 2014. Even so, ongoing inventory shortages will continue to lift home prices, though at a slower single-digit growth rate next year," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.

Country Financial, a financial services company based in Bloomington, Illinois, found in a recent survey that 48 percent of Americans say the market could reach a bubble over the next two years.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) started off its 100th Annual Convention Sunday with the election and swearing-in of its board of directors for the 2014 membership year.

Docutech Integrates Veri-Tax Verification Solutions DocuTech Corp. has partnered with Veri-Tax to automate the 4506-T IRS verification process in ConformX, DocuTech's flagship software.

September marked the third straight month of declining business for Freddie Mac, with purchases and issuances coming in at their lowest level in almost a year and a half. Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio shrank at an annualized rate of 4.3 percent in September, contracting at a slightly lessened pace compared to August's -5.0 percent growth rate. New business fell for the second straight month, with purchases and issuances totaling approximately $28.2 billion--the lowest since April 2012 ($25.9 billion).

Today's resilient capital market has the capacity to adapt readily to the pending ability-to-repay and qualified mortgage (QM) rules set to take effect January 10, 2014, according to a white paper CoreLogic released Friday. In its analysis, CoreLogic offers general support for the rules and suggests the industry will continue to prosper--albeit with more caution than in the years leading up to the housing crisis. "Making sure a borrower has the ability to repay is good business," the company said.

DataQuick, a specialist in property information and decisioning solutions, reported price growth "resumed at a rapid rate in September and spread to all" of its 42 reporting counties on a monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. In other findings, sales dipped in most measures, with 26 counties reporting monthly increases, 28 reporting quarterly increases, and 29 posting yearly improvement (compared to 29, 37, and 28 in August, respectively).