Secondary Market

Home prices rose sharply in May cutting the year-over-year drop in prices to 0.7 percent from 1.8 percent in April, Standard & Poor's reported Tuesday in its Case-Shiller Home Price Index. Prices in the 20 cities surveyed rose 2.2 percent month-over-month, the strongest such gain since the 20-city index began in January 2000. The 10-city index also improved 2.2 percent in May, shaving the year-over-year decline in price to 1.0 percent in May from 2.2 percent in April. The month-over-month increase fell short of the 2.3 percent gain registered in June 2004.

Former President Bill Clinton will make a stop at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, before continuing on to Dallas, Texas, to deliver the closing keynote at the mortgage industry's Five Star Conference and Expo. The DNC announced Monday that Clinton will formally nominate President Barack Obama as the Democratic party's presidential candidate during its convention on September 5, just two days before he speaks to thousands of mortgage default servicing professionals at the 2012 Five Star Conference.

The chairman and CEO of ION Financial, Inc., John D. Koch, has a new title to boast about, having been named to the advisory board of LTVtrade. The company announced Koch's appointment in preparation for the upcoming launch of a new trading initiative for LTVtrade Marketplace.

Higher asking prices drove off foreign homebuyers and investors over the last year, with real estate firm citing a 10 percent decline in foreign interest for the U.S. housing market. Releasing its International House Hunter Report Thursday, Trulia found that asking prices rose 0.3 percent year-over-year, nixing helpful influence from still-falling home prices. The housing bust attracted a number of foreign and cash buyers interested in low prices and the safe haven of U.S. real estate investment, according to Trulia.

The nation's homeownership rate rose to 65.5 percent in the second quarter, according to the Census Bureau. The rate for the first quarter, however, was revised downward from the originally reported 65.5 percent to 65.4 percent, the lowest since Q1 1997 when the rate was also 65.4 percent. The Census Bureau also reported the number of housing units for sale fell to 1,595,000 in the second quarter, a drop of 364,000 from a year earlier. Over the same period, the number of housing units held off the market increased 265,000 to 7,612,000.

New home sales fell to 350,000, setting a five-month low in June, the Census Bureau and HUD reported jointly Wednesday. Economists had expected sales to inch up slightly from the preliminary sales report in May. May sales were revised up to 382,000 from the originally reported 369,000. Both the average and median price of a new home fell in June from May. The median price was also down from June 2011 while the average price was up slightly. The average price of a new home fell in June to $273,900.

The Glendale, California, house that once belonged to sports legend Casey Stengel has hit the market for $2.41 million. The Mediterranean home, which was built in 1925, was Stengel's life-long residence, and the basebal star called the property home until his death in 1975.

As the deadline for implementation of the uniform loan delivery dataset arrived on Monday, Wipro Gallagher Solutions announced its adoption of ULDD standards. The company noted that clients using its loan origination systems will now be able to seamlessly interface with the GSEs, as per ULDD's objectives.

The Asian Real Estate Association has named Ivan Choi as its chair-elect. Choi will assume the leadership post following the AREAA's national convention in September, where he will be officially installed as the organization's chairman of the board.

Texas-based Caliber Funding LLC has announced the departure of its CEO and the appointment of a new president. Caliber has named Jim Ferriter as the company's president, and his promotion follows former CEO Brian Simon's exit from the organization.