Secondary Market

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reminded servicers of mortgage relief options available to homeowners whose residences were affected by the tornado that ravaged areas in Oklahoma.

The Real Estate Roundtable's outlook for commercial real estate (CRE) remained "modestly optimistic" in Q2 even as public policy uncertainties cloud the future, the group revealed in its Q2 2013 Sentiment Survey. The survey's "Overall Index" reading stands at 69 in the most recent release, unchanged from the previous quarter. That score is based on the average of two indices: the Current Conditions Index (which read 71 for Q2, an increase of one point over Q1) and the Future Conditions Index (67 for Q2, unchanged).

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff went back on a previous decision to dismiss most of Dexia's claims against JPMorgan Chase in a $774 million suit. In reversing his decision, Rakoff noted that he didn't have the jurisdiction to grant a dismissal in the first place, citing an appeals court decision in a similar case involving American International Group (AIG) and Bank of America. Dexia filed suit in January 2012, alleging it was fraudulently convinced to purchase more than $1.6 billion of securities that went bad.

Zillow's Home Value Index climbed to $158,300 for April, an increase of 0.5 percent month-over-month and 5.2 percent year-over-year. April marked the sixth consecutive month in which home values appreciated more than 5 percent on a yearly basis. "In the short-term, this has been welcome news for homeowners. But in the long-term, this cannot be sustained, and consumers entering the market today should not expect this kind of appreciation to last," said Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries.

Indisoft and national nonprofit Hope LoanPort (HLP) announced technology enhancements designed to assist servicers with regulatory compliance.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) shared a proposal that it says would bring private capital back into the mortgage market while decreasing costs for taxpayers and borrowers.

The lending division of Carrington Mortgage Services announced the addition of industry vet Jeff Gillis as SVP of operations. In addition, Carrington announced the promotion of Mariano Demarin to national sales director for the firm's retail lending division.

In its most recent economic outlook, Fannie Mae's Economic and Strategic Research Group revealed expectations for the economy to continue the modest recovery and grow 2.2 percent this year.

The company behind the VantageScore credit scoring model announced a webinar covering the current credit environment and new predictive models developed post-recession. VantageScore Solutions will host the webinar, which will feature Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, and Sarah Davies, SVP of analytic, product management, and research for VantageScore Solutions.

Realtors attending the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo expressed renewed confidence in a forum on the commercial real estate (CRE) market. NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun joined several Realtor CRE specialists on a panel to discuss the economy and regulatory issues and how they impact the market. In a live audience poll, the majority of attendees said their local economy is either a little better or showing a major improvement from last year.