Servicing

Measuring the prices of loans sold through its platform, Boston-based DebtX? found commercial real estate (CRE) loan prices rose over the year in 2012 but ended the year with little change in December.

Ally Financial reported net income of $1.4 billion for 2012's last quarter as the bank continues to shift away from the mortgage business. Last quarter's $1.4 billion income was a marked turnaround from the net loss of $206 million reported at the end of 2011. For the entire year, Ally recorded a net income of $1.2 billion compared to a net loss of $157 million in 2011. According to the bank's quarterly earnings report, performance was largely "affected by strong on sale revenue in Mortgage Operations."

Asking prices rose dramatically in January as renting prices cooled off somewhat, according to the latest data in Trulia's Price and Rent monitors. The company's Price Monitor showed a 0.3 percent quarter-over-quarter rise in January (without seasonal adjustment). On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased 2.2 percent quarterly. While January's numbers signal a strong price recovery, Trulia's chief economist warned the month's gains could disappear in some areas.

A new poll from the Consumer Reports National Research Center (CRNRC) shows consumer confidence is off to a sluggish start in 2013.

Realtors in December expected prices to rise by about 3.5 percent over the next year, while consumer estimates were more modest at 2.5 percent for the same time period, Capital Economics noted in its monthly housing report. The estimates show a growing optimism among those groups. But, with the low supply of inventory, Capital Economics anticipates much bigger gains.

Subprime credit scores are declining across the country with strong declines in a few rebounding markets, according to Atlanta-based Equifax, a leading credit reporting agency. Designating credit scores below 620 as "subprime," Equifax found the number of subprime borrowers decreased 2.1 percent from the third quarter of 2011 to the third quarter of 2012. The 2.1 percent translates to about 1 million Americans who rose from the subprime category.

ISGN Corporation, a provider of end-to-end technology services to the mortgage industry, announced three new hires and one promotion to round out the company's senior leadership team.

Equity Loans LLC, a Georgia-based lender with operations in more than 30 states, reported major growth in 2012, both in loan volume and in operations. According to a company release, Equity Loans saw a 50 percent increase in loan production last year, setting a new record.

Younger generations continue to hold a more favorable view of homeownership than their elders, according to Prudential Real Estate's end-of-year Outlook Survey. The report shows homeownership remains important to 96 percent of Americans, with 77 percent of respondents ages 25-34 and 78 percent ages 35-44 agreeing it is "very important." Those percentages fall off somewhat for older generations: 73 percent for the 45-54 crowd and 72 percent for those ages 55-64.

Consumer confidence picked up somewhat in January, but the recent payroll tax hike put a ceiling on any major gains.