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Citizens First Wholesale Mortgage Company has welcomed a new president. The Florida-based organization recently announced the appointment of Jonathan L. Woods to the executive role.

Mortgage applications increased 1.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in May, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's latest mortgage application survey released Wednesday. The survey measured application data for the week ending June 1 and included an adjustment for the Memorial Day holiday. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, application rates were not as strong, falling more than 9 percent from the previous week. Refinances continue to make up a large portion of mortgages, taking up 78 percent of activity for the week, up 1 percent from the previous week.

Home prices across the nation rose in April, and a further increase is expected for May's index, according to CoreLogic's April Home Price Index report. The report, released Tuesday, showed that home prices in the United States increased in on a year-over-year basis by 1.1 percent in April. This was the second consecutive year-over-year increase in 2012 and the first time two consecutive increases have occurred since June 2010. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 2.2 percent in April, marking the consecutive month-over-month increase this year.

For the first time since August 2010, home prices rose on both a quarterly and yearly basis, according to the May 2012 Home Data Index report released by Clear Capital. Quarter-over-quarter, prices appreciated 0.4 percent, the first quarterly increase since November 2011. Year-over-year, prices rose by 0.1 percent, according to the index. The increases were attributed to stronger regional growth in the West, Northeast, and South, as well as a rise in REO-only prices. Among the four regions, the growth was greatest in the West.

The monitor responsible for reviewing $25 billion in settlement funds announced Monday that his office has selected BDO USA, LLP, to serve as the primary professional firm needed to oversee the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós servicers. The firm will play a critical role in the oversight process as Joseph A. Smith, Jr., the former North Carolina banking commissioner selected by 49 state attorneys general to head up the settlement, begins the footwork necessary to fulfill terms and conditions under the landmark deal.

More than a year after releasing a white paper that set forth three options for housing finance reform, Treasury and HUD struggle to determine the best path forward for America's housing finance system. Speaking before an audience at a meeting of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, Counselor to the Treasury Secretary for Housing Finance Michael Stegman explained that rather than answering the broader question of what the future of housing should look like, each proposal seems to ignite a slew of additional critical questions.

The number of loans refinanced through HARP in the first quarter of 2012 was nearly double the number of refinances in the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's March 2012 Refinance Report released Friday. The report showed that 180,185 loans were refinanced through HARP during the year├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós first quarter, nearly twice the 93,190 refinances in the previous quarter. The month of March alone saw 79,470 loans refinanced with HARP, implicating nearly one in seven loan refinances in the quarter.

SharperLending LLC, a technology provider for the mortgage industry, announced Thursday that it has re-designed one of its key products, its Appraisal Firewall. The new version of the firewall allows for more integration between appraisers and lenders.

Consumer spending grew just 0.3 percent in April, up slightly from 0.2 percent in March, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday. Economists had expected spending to be up 0.3 percent. At the same time, personal income grew 0.2 percent in April, BEA said, compared with market expectations of a 0.

The economy added just 69,000 jobs in May compared with a revised 77,000 in April down from the originally reported 115,000, the Labor Department reported Friday. The closely watched unemployment rate inched up to 8.2 percent ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô a function of an increase in the nation├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós labor force to the highest level ever. Payroll gains for March and April were revised, subtracting 11,000 from the last published numbers for March and 38,000 from the preliminary report for April. A sharp drop in construction jobs ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô 28,000 ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô led payrolls down.