This year’s gains in the housing market are likely to continue into 2013, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey results. A combination of factors, including declining time-on-market, a drop in distressed properties and rising average home prices, are all pointing to a strengthening housing market in the months ahead. Separately, real estate agents are expressing mixed opinions on the impact of a possible reduction or elimination of the mortgage interest deduction in 2013.Click to continue

Despite growing signs that the housing market is starting to recover from the depression-like conditions of the past few years, first-time homebuyers don’t seem to be benefiting from that recovery. According to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulseTracking Survey results, the first-time homebuyer share of home purchases fell to 34.7 percent in October. That was not only down from the 37.1 percent share seen as recently as June, but also the lowest first-time homebuyer share ever recorded in the HousingPulse survey.Click to continue

Carrington Property Services LLC has announced the introduction of the Carrington Property Network (CPN), an exclusive national network of leading residential real estate brokerage firms. Carrington will assist these firms to increase their business in two ways: by facilitating their participation in the distressed property market, and by enabling them to work with institutional real estate investors.Click to continue

Pro Teck Valuation Services’ October Home Value Forecast Update examines Months of Remaining Inventory (MRI) of new homes listed for sale over the past 50 years, which is currently close to its lowest level at 4.5 months. The Update also explores the correlation between median single family home price changes and MRI of new single family homes over the past four decades and explores why there is a divergence between existing and new home prices. The October update includes the monthly 10 top and bottom metros across the country ranked in terms of housing trends.Click to continue

CoreLogic has released its July Home Price Index (HPI) which found that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 3.8 percent in July 2012 compared to July 2011. This was the biggest year-over-year increase since August 2006. On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 1.3 percent in July 2012 compared to June 2012. The July 2012 figures mark the fifth consecutive increase in home prices nationally on both a year-over-year and month-over-month basis.Click to continue

Investor participation in the housing market dropped sharply in July, establishing a two-month trend and showing a clear reversal of long-term growth in investor purchases of residential properties, according to the Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey. Investor participation in the housing market fell to 21.9 percent of all transactions in July, from 23.5 percent in June, based on a three-month moving average. Investor participation back in May of this year hit a two-year peak of 25.3 percent of all transactions.Click to continue

The Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and United States Attorney for the Central District of California André Birotte Jr.Click to continue

Existing-home prices continued to show gains, but sales fell in June with tight supplies of affordable homes limiting first-time homebuyers, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Total existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, declined 5.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.37 million in June from an upwardly revised 4.62 million in May, but are 4.5 percent higher than the 4.18 million-unit level in June 2011.Click to continue

Qualified entities interested in purchasing pools of severely distressed loans formerly insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) can now submit applications for the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program, an expansion of an FHA disposition program that sells pools of defaulted mortgages headed for foreclosure and provides the opportunity for the purchaser and borrower to avoid a costly foreclosure.Click to continue

CoreLogic has reported that the current residential shadow inventory as of April 2012 fell to 1.5 million units, representing a supply of four months. This was a 14.8 percent drop from April 2011, when shadow inventory stood at 1.8 million units, or a six-months' supply, which is approximately the same level as the country was experiencing in October 2008. Currently, the flow of new seriously delinquent (90 days or more) loans into the shadow inventory has been approximately offset by the equal volume of distressed (short and real estate-owned) sales.Click to continue