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The Pending Home Sales Index rose a strong 5.9 percent in May to 101.1, returning to its level of March, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. The index had slipped in April to 95.5 after reaching its highest level since April 2010. The index is up a solid 13.3 percent since May 2011. The report is another in a string of positive signs for the housing sector. Pending home sales are counted when sales contracts are signed, and are viewed as a leading indicator of existing home sales, according to NAR.

April marked the second consecutive month of monthly home price gains but posted a 2.4 percent decline year-over-year, according to FNC├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Residential Price Index. However, FNC notes that the yearly decline ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├àÔÇ£marks the slowest pace of price declines since the housing crash.├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├é┬Ø FNC, an appraisal technology provider, recorded a 0.6 percent price increase in April based on prices in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. FNC relies on public records and real-time appraisals of neighborhoods and properties. Some cities to experience declines in April do not appear to be anomalous.

Increases in all aspects of Freddie Mac├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós total mortgage portfolio led to a higher (but still negative) annualized growth rate, according to the GSE├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós Monthly Volume Summary for May. The summary showed that Freddie Mac's total mortgage portfolio for the month shrank at an annualized rate of 9.4 percent, a drop from 14.1 percent in April but still far above March├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós 2.9 percent contraction rate. The negative annualized growth rate YTD is 6.8 percent. Liquidations dropped immensely - by negative $45.4 billion.

The FHFA reported Tuesday that mortgage interest rates fell based on loans closed in the last week of May. The average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage loan ($417,000 or less) decreased 17 basis points in May to 4.04 percent, the FHFA said. The contract rate on the composite of all mortgage loans was 3.78 percent, down 15 basis points from 3.93 percent in April. Rate changes are based on unweighted survey data. Because interest rates are determined 30-45 days before loans are closed, reported rates depict market conditions from mid- to late- April.

A stunning Long Island estate may be set to make history in the Hamptons, according to Curbed.com. The 33-acre listing in Sagaponack, New York, was recently put on the market for $65 million, making it the most expensive property for sale in the area.

PSM Holdings, Inc., is seizing its bragging rights, recently announcing that three team members from company subsidiary, PrimeSource Mortgage, were named among the country's top three producers.

In Louisiana, Jones Walker is welcoming a new hire in its New Orleans office. The law firm has appointed David S. Willenzik as special counsel for Jones Walker's operations throughout the lending and financial vertical.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency filed suit Friday against Illinois tax officials for imposing unlawful taxes on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Several Illinois counties have attempted to collect transfer taxes from the GSEs, and some have threatened to reject future property transfers from the enterprises if they do not pay the state and county transfer taxes. Illinois officials have demanded transfer fees from both enterprises. Similar claims and demands have been made from other Illinois counties.

Although mortgage fraud activity seems to be leveling off, a report from MortgageDaily.com showed that mortgage fraud continues to cause foreclosure problems for the most victimized states. The Mortgage Fraud Index, which reflects mostly criminal cases involving law enforcement and court proceedings, showed that mortgage fraud crawled up in the first quarter of 2012. The index was 1151, slightly above Q4 2011├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔÇ×┬ós 1141 index. The highest recorded index was 2790 in fourth-quarter 2008. According to the website, most of the cases involve crimes committed five or more years ago.

The drop in existing home sales reported by the National Association of Realtors Thursday likely stemmed from a lack of distressed properties on the market, according to IHS Global Insight. In May, existing-home sales fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.55 from 4.62 million in April, which is a monthly decline of 1.5 percent, the NAR reported. Existing home sales were still up from a year ago in May 2011 by 9.6 percent. According to the NAR report, investor purchases made up 17 percent of homes sales in May, down from 20 percent in April and 19 percent in May 2011. The report also revealed that distressed home sales, or foreclosures and short sales, declined monthly and yearly as well.