The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) have released February data for the Administration's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). As of the end of the month, more than one million borrowers were receiving a median savings of $500 each month, a 36 percent median monthly payment decrease. Permanent modifications have been granted to 170,000 homeowners and an additional 91,800 permanent modifications have been approved by servicers and are pending only borrower acceptance.

Highlights of the report include:Read more

“Friends, Americans, mortgage professionals, lend me your ears … I come to bury InterBay, not to praise them. The evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred with their bones, so let it be with InterBay … we have been told that InterBay was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault …”Read more

AIMSdashboard has released the latest version of its Web-based Appraisal Independence Management System (AIMS), featuring several compliance-focused additions. AIMS 4.4 will promote lender compliance with the appraisal independence requirements of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Mortgagee Letter 09-28, Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) and the Home Valuation Code of Conduct (HVCC).Read more

RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, has released its February 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 308,524 U.S. properties during the month, a decrease of two percent from the previous month but still six percent above the level reported in February 2009. The report also shows one in every 418 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in February.Read more

Today, March 11, 2010, Mike Anderson, CRMS, vice chairman of the Government Affairs Committee for the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) will testify before the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Development at a hearing entitled, “The FHA Reform Act of 2010.” The hearing, which will start at 2:00 p.m. EST and be held at the 2128 Rayburn House Office Building, consisting of two panels: Panel I will include Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner David H.Read more

Rising vacancies and falling rents are impacting all sectors of commercial real estate. Landlords are focusing on tenant retention and negotiating lease extensions at low rents with favorable allowances to sustain revenues. The Beige Book Jan. 13, 2010 Summary indicated that while economic activity remains at a low level, conditions have improved modestly further, and those improvements are broader geographically than in the last report. Commercial real estate markets deteriorated in most districts based on information collected on or before Jan. 5, 2009.Read more

Freddie Mac has released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.95 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 11, 2010, down from last week when it averaged 4.97 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.03 percent. The 15-year FRM this week averaged 4.32 percent with an average 0.7 point, down from last week when it averaged 4.33 percent.Read more

Delinquency rates continued to increase in the fourth quarter for most commercial/multifamily mortgage investor groups, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's (MBA) Commercial/Multifamily Delinquency Report. Between the third and fourth quarters, the 30-plus day delinquency rate on loans held in commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) rose 1.63 percentage points to 5.69 percent. The 60-plus day delinquency rate on loans held in life company portfolios decreased 0.04 percentage points to 0.19 percent.Read more

DartAppraisal.com, a provider of nationwide residential real estate valuations, has announced their integration to FirstClose, a service of First Lender's Data Inc. (FLDI). Based in Austin, Texas, FLDI provides cutting-edge technology solutions to mortgage lenders nationwide.Read more

David Hall, a veteran of Michigan's mortgage industry, has announced the launch of Hall Financial. Headquartered in Birmingham, Mich., the new company will provide expertise counsel and guidance through Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, reverse mortgages, loan modifications, zero-down rural development loans, conventional loans and government incentives. Read more