The national negative equity rate fell in the first quarter, to 25.4 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, according to the first quarter Zillow Negative Equity Report. But another 18.2 percent of homeowners with mortgages, while not technically underwater, likely do not have enough equity to afford to move. Slightly more than 13 million homeowners with a mortgage were in negative equity, or underwater, at the end of the first quarter, owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth.Click to continue

Lender Processing Services Inc. (LPS) has reported the following "first look" at April 2013 month-end mortgage performance statistics derived from its loan-level database representing approximately 70 percent of the overall market. Total U.S. loan delinquency rate (loans 30 or more days past due, but not in foreclosure) stood at 6.21 percent, while the month-over-month change in delinquency rate was -5.81 percent. Click to continue

VRM Mortgage Services announced the appointment of Ed Hunter as vice president of business development. Hunter will lead and direct VRM’s go-to-market strategy and execution for new business development. His responsibilities will include creating and managing the company’s strategic business development plans, identifying industry trends and helping to oversee the solution development and sale of new business lines and services.Click to continue

The nation’s largest mortgage servicers have distributed $50.63 billion in direct relief to over 620,000 homeowners, or roughly $81,000 per homeowner as part of the National Mortgage Settlement, according to a progress update released by independent settlement monitor Joseph A. Smith of the Office of Mortgage Settlement Oversight. Over one year ago, the Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S.Click to continue

HOPE NOW has released its first 2013 data, showing that approximately 245,000 homeowners have received permanent loan modifications from mortgage servicers so far this year. Of the 245,000 loan modifications completed from January through March, about 203,000 homeowners received proprietary loan modifications and 42,157 homeowners received loan modifications completed under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).Click to continue

Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have implemented policies to expedite the short sales process, including new resources to help determine property values, according to panelists at a property valuation forum during the Realtors Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo. Short sales continue to represent a significant portion of the real estate market. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), short sales accounted for nine percent of transactions during the first quarter of 2013.Click to continue

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt announced the opening of Phase II of homeowner compensation from the Oklahoma Mortgage Settlement Fund. The deadline to apply is Dec. 31 for Oklahoma families who were harmed during the mortgage modification or foreclosure process with five mortgage servicers involved in the settlement.Click to continue

Freddie Mac has unveiled its latest Streamlined Modification program, which is set to go into effect immediately and will be available to all eligible borrowers. The essential goal of streamlining this process would be to expedite financial relief for potentially thousands of distressed families while also making the process simpler in general for anyone seeking to use the Streamlined Modification program.Click to continue

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury have released the April edition of the Obama Administration's Housing Scorecard—a comprehensive report on the nation’s housing market. The latest data show important progress across many key indicators—as home values continue to rise and home sales remained strong in April—although officials caution that the overall recovery remains fragile.Click to continue

Fannie Mae has introduced its Servicing Management Default Underwriter (SMDU), a tool to help mortgage servicers work faster and more consistently with homeowners to prevent foreclosure.  This technology, a counterpart to Fannie Mae’s Desktop Underwriter for mortgage originations, breaks new ground by evaluating a homeowner’s financial situation and determining what options are available to prevent foreclosure.Click to continue