Servicing

The housing recovery may be fast approaching a wall as well-located finished building lots become scarce, Fitch Ratings says in a recent analysis.

New home sales fell 4.6 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 411,000 in February, the sharpest drop in two years, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a smaller drop to 425,000 from January's originally reported sales of 437,000. January sales were revised down to 431,000. The sharp drop in sales combined with a steep price increase suggests builders are facing some price pushback from buyers for new homes even as supplies of existing single-family homes remain at historic lows.

Home prices posted their strongest yearly gain in almost seven years in January, according to the Case-Shiller 10- and 20-city Home Price Indices released Tuesday. Home prices rose year-over-year in all 20 of the cities in the Case-Shiller survey. Prices rose in nine cities in January over December while falling in eight. Prices were unchanged in the remaining three. December data were revised, showing prices rose month-over-month in 10 cities compared with nine in the original report. The report showed a steady improvement in prices in the West.

In January, national home prices averaged $208,000, up 0.3 percent from December and 6.7 percent year-over-year. However, prices were still 21.4 percent below their June 2006 peak. Among metro areas, Atlanta experienced the biggest monthly increase at 1.7 percent, while Phoenix followed with a 1.2 percent gain. Three other metros in the top five were San Jose (+1.2 percent); Hilton Head, South Carolina (1.1 percent); and Baltimore (1.1 percent).

MortgageAuction, launched in November 2012, offers online auctions to match mortgage borrowers with the lowest mortgage rates and fees from competing lenders.

360 Mortgage Group, a privately owned mortgage banker based in Austin, Texas, announced the hiring of Kim Bessette and Jennifer Warthen. The two new wholesale account executives will focus their efforts on supporting the mortgage broker communities in Florida and California, respectively.

Veros' future home price index (HPI) forecast projects significant strengthening and improvement across most markets.

WCS Lending, a privately held mortgage bank headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, named Ivan Choi as head of affinity relations--a position created with him in mind.

One of the most interesting results of poring through economic data reports is that the details often tell a different story than the headline. Coverage of the recent report on housing permits and starts, for example, was dominated by the increases in both metrics, suggesting a revival of the housing sector, a response some analysts suggested is due to tight inventories of existing-single family homes on the market. However, a closer look revealed a more important phenomenon.

The Real Estate Roundtable, a group of leaders representing real estate businesses and trade associations, published a release urging lawmakers to take a pro-growth approach to tax reform that considers the commercial real estate (CRE) sector's role in the larger economy. In a letter, the group says a restructuring of taxes should recognize "commercial real estate's vast economic contributions" and include "transition rules" to minimize disruptions to real estate.