Foreclosure Activity Up 65 Percent From April 2007 A new report shows foreclosure filings were reported on 243,353 properties, a 4 percent increase from the previous month and a nearly 65 percent increase from April 2007. One in every 519 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month. Full Story

Freddie Mac Reports $151 Million Net Loss Freddie Mac reported a net loss of $151 million, or $0.66 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2008, compared to a net loss of $133 million, or $0.35 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. Full Story

Mixed Home Price Performance Continues in Metro Areas, One-Third Show Gains One out of three the metropolitan areas in the United States showed rising home prices in the first quarter, with only a small number of jumbo loan originations and higher foreclosures resulting in greatly mixed conditions around the country, according to a new survey. Full Story

Survey Says Appraisers Under Pressure from Loan Officers A new survey shows a large percentage of appraisers are being asked to inflate home values. 81 percent feared losing repeat business based on not providing requested values. Full Story

Agencies Issue Proposed Rules on Risk-Based Pricing Notices The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve Board proposed regulations that generally would require a creditor to provide a consumer with a risk-based pricing notice when, based in whole or in part on the consumer's credit report, the creditor offers or provides credit to the consumer on terms less favorable than the terms it offers or provides to other consumers. Full Story

House Passes The Neighborhood Stabilization Act By a vote of 239-188, the House passed The Neighborhood Stabilization Act (H.R. 5818), which authorizes a $15 billion federal grant and loan program to help state and local governments purchase, rehabilitate, and resell or rent foreclosed homes. Full Story

FBI Issues 2007 Mortgage Fraud Report According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 2007 Mortgage Fraud Report, mortgage fraud Suspicious Activity Reports referred to law enforcement increased 31 percent to 46,717 during 2007. The total dollar loss attributed to mortgage fraud is... Full Story

House Passes American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act The U.S. House of Representatives passed the most comprehensive response yet to the American mortgage crisis. The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act (H.R. 3221) responds directly to the current crisis facing middle class Americans while providing the tools to prevent a repeat of these problems. Full Story

The Mortgage Market This Week Monday, May 12, 2008 The Bond Rate Monitor Last week, after improving slightly rates reversed course and ended the week close to where they began. However, this course correction was not due to and economic reports, but rather to a commodity we all use on a regular basis. The week ahead is front loaded with important economic releases, so where will rates end up? Read on to find out. Full Story

Mortgage Applications Increase In Latest MBA Weekly Survey Wednesday, May 14, 2008 The Mortgage Bankers Association released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending May 9, 2008. The Market Composite Index was 674.4, an increase of 2.9 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 655.4 one week earlier. Full Story

Little Movement in Mortgage Rates Seen This Week Monday, May 12, 2008 Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 6.05 percent with an average 0.3 point for the week ending May 8, 2008, down very slightly from last week when it averaged 6.06 percent. Full Story

MBA’s Richman Testifies Before NY State Senate on Foreclosure and Subprime Bill Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Mortgage Bankers Association Paul J. Richman, Vice President of State Government Affairs at the Mortgage Bankers Association, testified before the New York State Senate's Standing Committee on Banks at a hearing on Governor's Program Bill 44 addressing mortgage foreclosures and subprime lending practices. Full Story

Quinn Calls for Quick Conference on Flood Insurance Bill Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Mortgage Bankers Association Kieran P. Quinn, Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association, welcomed Senate passage of The Flood Insurance Reform and Modernization Act of 2008 and called on House and Senate leadership to quickly begin negotiations to reconcile the two chambers' bills. Full Story

Housing and Finance Experts Address Mortgage Crisis Wednesday, May 14, 2008 National Association of Realtors With the goal of helping more families keep their homes rather than lose them to foreclosure, Federal Housing Administration Commissioner Brian Montgomery, Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Director James Lockhart and Harvard University Director and former House Financial Services Chairman Jim Leach addressed a crowd of more than 400 at NAR's Midyear Legislative Meeting & Trade Expo. Full Story

Flagstar Bank Taps CampusMBA To Deliver Key FHA Business Initiative Monday, May 12, 2008 Mortgage Bankers Association CampusMBA, the award winning education division of the Mortgage Bankers Association, announced it has launched a strategic educational offering focusing on Federal Housing Administration loan guidance for Flagstar Bank. Full Story

NAHB Applauds Fannie Mae Housing Recovery Initiatives Monday, May 12, 2008 National Association of Home Builders The National Association of Home Builders expressed support for steps recently announced by Fannie Mae to address severe problems in the nation's housing finance system. Full Story