Tag Archives: Service Providers

An estimated 37,764 new and resale houses and condos sold statewide in California in March--a monthly increase of 31.5 percent, according to information released by San Diego-based DataQuick. March's sales numbers also came in 0.8 percent above March 2012's 37,481, DataQuick reported.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released Tuesday its House Price Index (HPI) for February, revealing home prices rose 0.7 percent month-over-month on a seasonally adjusted basis. Year-over-year, U.S. house prices were up 7.1 percent. As of February, the U.S. index rested at 196.3, 13.6 percent below its peak in April 2007 and was roughly the same as its October 2004 reading. FHFA's index has not declined on a monthly basis since January 2012.

Freddie Mac announced it is now offering a free, online CreditSmart tutorial to provide working families and new or inexperienced borrowers with basic sound information about building savings, personal credit, and making wise financial choices.

Stearns Lending, Inc., a nationwide mortgage lending institution encompassing retail, wholesale, and correspondent business channels, announced the appointment of Aaron Samples as VP of strategic development.

After experiencing the sharpest drop in two years in February, new home sales increased 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 417,000 in March, the Census Bureau and HUD reported Tuesday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected March sales to increase to 419,000 from a February's originally reported 411,000. The median price of a new home, according to the Census-HUD report, plunged $17,900 (or 6.8 percent) in March to $247,000, the largest month-over-month decline since February 2011.

Xerox Mortgage Services announced the release of BlitzDocs Servicing to simplify the paperless mortgage process for lenders and servicers.

According to RE/MAX's National Housing Report for March, closed transactions climbed 27.8 percent month-over-month, starting the selling season off strong. Year-over-year, sales were up 2.9 percent, making March the 21st straight month to see higher sales than the previous year. Months Supply of homes fell to 3.8 in March, down 29.5 percent year-over-year and the lowest level recorded since RE/MAX's National Housing Report began in August 2008.

The 2013 national bank failure tally ran up to eight this weekend as three more institutions fell by the wayside. FDIC announced the collapses of Chipola Community Bank in Marianna, Florida; Heritage Bank of North Florida in Orange Park; and First Federal Bank in Lexington, Kentucky.

As part of its ongoing efforts to assist the industry in the implementation of new mortgage guidelines, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued proposed amendments to clarify the qualified mortgage (QM) and servicing rules first laid out in January. The proposal addresses five topics, including debt-to-income ratio concerns surrounding the Ability to Repay Rule, uncertainties around the temporary QM provision, and which criteria are used to define "small servicers."

In Pittsburgh, ServiceLink, an end-to-end origination, servicing, and default solutions provider for mortgage lenders and servicers, named Mike Zwerner as SVP of corporate development.