Servicing

Home sales in California displayed a typical seasonal decline in November and fell month-over-month, but the median price posted both monthly and yearly gains, San Diego-based DataQuick reported. About 37,481 new and existing homes were sold in November, representing a 4.5 percent decline from October, but a 14.7 percent increase from November 2011, according to DataQuick.

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) deputy director Stephen Cross will retire from his post in March 2013, according to an announcement from acting director Edward DeMarco. Cross has served as FHFA's deputy director of the Division of Federal Home Loan Bank Regulation since the agency's creation in 2008.

Capsilon, a San Francisco-headquartered provider of cloud-based document sharing, imaging, and collaboration solutions for lenders, announced David Hanafee has joined its executive team as VP of worldwide sales.

The desire for homeownership is still strong in young renters, according to a survey released by Trulia.

Highlighting its strategic plans, Consumers National Bank cited its strong technology partners as the keys to successfully launching its mortgage unit.

Consumer spending turned down in November after nearly a year of steady gains, according to Deloitte's Consumer Spending Index. The index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future spending, comprises four components: tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices. The index dipped from 4.14 in October to 3.89 in November, turning around several months of improvement. The index reflects data through October but does not yet show the complete impact of superstorm Sandy.

According to Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) interest rate averaged 3.32 percent (0.7 point) for the week ending December 13, down slightly from 3.34 percent the previous week. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.66 percent (0.6 point), down week-to-week from 2.67 percent. Rates measured by Bankrate's weekly survey were even more sluggish. The 30-year fixed averaged 3.52 percent, a slight increase from last week's low of 3.50 percent.

Releasing the results of the financial institution's board elections, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York has announced updates to its directorship. Through the bank's electoral process, appointees were named for two independent director positions and two member director positions, from New Jersey and New York respectively.

A new report from the Center for Responsible Lending asserts that the mortgage industry still has a long way to go before it's out of the woods.

In its latest research brief, Zillow analyzes data on actual sales prices compared to asking prices, the number of days listings spent on Zillow, and the percentage of homes on the market with a price cut. With the exception of Seattle and Washington, D.C., the top sellers' markets are all in the West, with six of the top eight located in California. Besides their geographic location, the top sellers' markets have one huge commonality: They were some of the worst-hit markets in the crash.