Secondary Market

American consumers remain cautiously optimistic of housing as home prices rise, Fannie Mae reported Monday. According to the GSE's August 2012 National Housing Survey, consumers maintain a cautious but improving view of homeownership and the housing market. The average home price change expectation is 1.6 percent, mostly consistent with July's results and down from a June high of 2.0 percent. Meanwhile, 11 percent of those surveyed say home prices will go down in the next year.

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent in August ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô the lowest level since April but the economy added just 96,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported Friday. According to Labor, 581,000 people left the labor force in August leading to the drop in the unemployment rate which nonetheless remained above the election-critical 8.0 percent. At the same time, July's job gains ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô originally reported at 163,000 ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô were reduced to 141,000 while June's job numbers dropped to 45,000 from 87,000.

Taking the stage on Thursday, speakers at the ninth annual Five Star Conference, currently underway at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, tackled the issue most politicians evade: When and where should government intervene in the housing market? Not often, according to speakers like Jack Konyk, executive director of government affairs with Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider, and Edward Kramer, EVP of regulatory affairs with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services. The Dodd-Frank Act took center-stage during the debate, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau along with it.

Online lending continues to boom, and at least one mortgage-shopping website is reporting that the housing market is heating up, based on site statistics. Citing strong findings from August, MortgageMarvel.com revealed that the number of applications for purchases and refinances submitted during the month quadrupled on a year-over-year basis.

The September data release from Clear Capital heralds good news for home pricing around the country. According to the company's Home Data Index Market Report, national price improvements observed through the end of summer mark four consecutive months of year-over-year gains. U.S. home pricing rose by 2.9 percent on a year-over-year basis to end August, and Clear Capital noted that the recorded growth "on this non-seasonally influenced metric shows fundamental strength fueling gains, rather than a boost from the summer buying season."

In California, a financial institution is selling the majority of its mortgage business to facilitate a return of capital agreement in conjunction with a previous acquisition deal. Redding-based Bank of Commerce Holdings has announced that 51 percent of Bank of Commerce Mortgage has been sold back to Simonich Corporation, following a 2009 capital stock purchase transaction between the two entities.

Struggling borrowers in need of alternative home loan modifications are getting a helping hand from a Texas-based mortgage lender and servicer. Homeward Residential, Inc., has rolled out a new program for consumers who are unable to qualify for modification options through federal initiatives.

A home with a very dubious history has hit the market in Ocklawaha, Florida. The former residence of Kate "Ma" Barker - she's the mother of famous gangsters, the Barker brothers - has been listed for $1 million. The property, which Barker was renting under an assumed name at the time, was the site of her demise in 1935 when she was shot by police following a four-hour standoff.

The slowing pace of workouts hasn├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ót stopped CMBS special servicer volume from falling, Fitch Ratings reported. According to Fitch├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós weekly U.S. CMBS Market Trends newsletter, the balance of loans in special servicing as of June 30 was $80.5 billion, a drop from $83.1 billion at the end of 2011 and $85.6 billion in June 2011. This news comes despite a slowdown in resolutions in the year├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós first half, with 1,242 loans resolved in that time (compared to 1,556 in the first half of 2011).

First time claims for unemployment were unchanged at 374,000 for the week ended August 25, the Labor Department reported Thursday after revising upward by 2,000 the prior week├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós originally reported 372,000 claims. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected 370,000 initial claims. Continuing claims ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô reported on a one-week lag ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô dipped 5,000 to 3,316,000 from the prior week's 3,321,000, revised from the originally reported 3,317,000. The BLS report will be published September 7. From mid-July to mid-August, first time claims are down 14,000 but continuing claims.