A Deal That Wouldn’t Sting
By Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times, Oct. 29, 2011

After months of back and forth, a deal that is supposed to punish large financial institutions for foreclosure misconduct may be nigh.

Foreclosure Failure
By Orange County Register, Editorial, Oct. 28, 2011

Nearly everyone recognized the obvious steps that had to be taken after 2008’s housing disaster: no more loans to unqualified buyers, no more creative financing, no more packaging for resale of securitized mortgages not worth their face value.

MERS Subpoenaed by New York, Sued by Delaware
By Karen Freifeld and Aruna Viswanatha, Reuters, Oct. 27, 2011

MERS, the electronic mortgage registry used by the banking industry, was sued by Delaware on Thursday and accused of deceptive practices that led to unlawful shortcuts in dealing with the foreclosure crisis. New York's attorney general also took action against MERS, subpoenaing the registry this week for information about how it is used by major banks and a foreclosure law firm, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Obama's Foreclosure Fix Is a Disaster
By Wayne A. Root, Newsmax.com, Oct. 28, 2011

Is an entire country being run based on "marble envy"? As a child I’m willing to bet that President Barack Obama felt shortchanged of his share of marbles. Unfortunately this made him obsessed with taking other kids’ marbles (or as he called it, "redistributing them").

Investors show interest in foreclosure plan
By Margaret Chadbourn, Fox Business, October 26, 2011

Big investors are showing interest in an evolving Obama administration plan to sell off foreclosed homes, although the government will have to make the offer sweet enough to coax private funds.

Deloitte Zeros In on Servicing Strategies for First-Time Defaulters
By Carrie Bay, DSNews, October 26, 2011

The economic environment of the last several years has added to the ranks of first-time defaulters.

Occupy Buffalo urges city to avoid Chase, cites foreclosures
By Robert J. McCarthy, BuffaloNews.com, October 26, 2011

 Occupy Buffalo moved its Niagara Square protest into City Hall on Tuesday as a host of groups accused JPMorgan Chase Bank of aggressively pursuing foreclosures rather than working with residents facing hard times.

Occupy Riverside protesters try to stop foreclosures
By Rob McMillan, KABC, October 27, 2011

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Occupy Riverside protesters surrounded a foreclosure auction in front of the courthouse Wednesday, chanting, singing, yelling and doing anything they could to try to stop foreclosures from going through. 

S&P/Experian: Default Rates Rise for First and Second Mortgages
By Krista Franks, DSNews, October 26, 2011

Default rates for both first and second mortgages increased during the month of September, according to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices.

Dems say Obama administration mulling paydowns to prevent foreclosures
By Mike Lillis, The Hill, October 26, 2011

The Obama administration is mulling ways to promote principal paydowns of mortgage loans to help struggling homeowners prevent foreclosures, according to House Democrats who met with a top housing regulator Wednesday.

Mortgage refinancing to get easier under revised U.S. program
By Jim Puzzanghera, Don Lee and Alejandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times, October 25, 2011

The Obama administration is launching yet another high-profile campaign to shore up the housing market -- and with it, the economy -- by making it easier for some struggling homeowners to refinance underwater mortgage loans at today's ultra-low interest rates.

Case-Shiller Continues to Record Improvements in Annual Price Changes
By Carrie Bay, DSNews, October 25, 2011

The annual rate of change in home prices continues to show improvement, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Why Politicians Don't Want to Touch the Housing Crisis
By Molly Ball, The Atlantic, October 25, 2011

Barack Obama would have you believe that Mitt Romney is a heartless zillionaire who doesn't think the government should do anything about Americans losing their homes to foreclosure. Romney would have you believe that the foreclosure problem is yet more evidence of Obama's failure to heal the economy.

Foreclosure prevention program under scrutiny
By The Associated Press, Miami Herald, October 24, 2011

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- A judicial committee determined that Florida's Supreme Court mediation program to prevent foreclosures should end because it's not keeping homeowners in their houses.

California housing agency forcing foreclosures
By Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times, October 24, 2011

A state agency that provides low-interest mortgages is foreclosing on a small number of clients even though they are making their monthly payments, a state Senate watchdog group reported.

Distressed home sales push down price data
By Jim Buchta, Star-Tribune, October 24, 2011

Prices on distressed sales in the Twin Cities have fallen three times more than prices on traditional deals in the past few years, a report revealed Monday, underscoring the impact foreclosures and short sales have had on the local housing market.

Buy House, Get a Visa
By Nick Timiraos, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 20, 2011

The reeling housing market has come to this: To shore it up, two Senators are preparing to introduce a bipartisan bill Thursday that would give residence visas to foreigners who spend at least $500,000 to buy houses in the U.S. The provision is part of a larger package of immigration measures, co-authored by Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah), designed to spur more foreign investment in the U.S.

California Subpoenas BofA Over Toxic Securities
By Alejandro Lazo and E. Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 20, 2011

Investigators with the state attorney general's office have subpoenaed Bank of America Corp. in connection with the sale and marketing of troubled mortgage-backed securities to California investors, according to a person familiar with the probe.

Behind the Numbers: the Housing Crash Continues
By Dawn Wotapka and Alan Zibel, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 20, 2011

Here’s even more bad news for housing: Sales of previously occupied homes in the U.S. fell last month. September’s existing-home sales decreased by 3.0% – more than expected – from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday.

Massachusetts Supreme Court Strips Foreclosure Buyer Of Property
By Daniel Fisher, Forbes, Oct. 20, 2011

As the nation’s housing market struggles to find bottom amid a glut of foreclosed property, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has issued a ruling that will make it even harder for lenders in that state to sell properties for  market value. The state’s highest court, in Bevilacqua v. Rodriguez, held that Francis Bevilacqua, who bought a foreclosed home from U.S. Bank in 2006, never actually obtained title to the property because the lender had filed for foreclosure a few weeks before it obtained an “assignment of mortgage” securing the loan. Sticking strictly to the form of the law, the court ruled that if U.S. Bank didn’t own the mortgage when it filed for foreclosure, then it couldn’t subsequently transfer title to Bevilacqua even though he paid for the property.

Home Sale After Bad Foreclosure Isn’t Valid, Court Rules
By Thom Weidich, Bloomberg News, Oct. 18, 2011

A Massachusetts man who bought property in a faulty foreclosure sale isn’t the true owner and so doesn’t have the right to sue over it, the state’s high court ruled. The Supreme Judicial Court, which in January found that banks can’t foreclose on a house if they don’t own the mortgage, went one step further in a closely watched case and said a sale after that foreclosure doesn’t transfer the property. Therefore, the buyer couldn’t bring his court action against a previous owner, the court ruled.

Housing Starts Jump 15%, Hit 17-month High
By Steve Goldstein, Market Watch, Oct. 19, 2011

Housing starts surged 15% in September to the highest level in 17 months, according to government data released Wednesday, as increased demand for rental stock as well as rebuilding after Hurricane Irene contributed to the upturn.

Mass. A.G. Coakley May Sue Lenders for Foreclosure Abuses
By Jenifer B. McKim, Boston Globe, Oct. 18, 2011

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said she is preparing to sue some mortgage lenders for foreclosure-related improprieties, including allegations that the companies have threatened homeowners with property seizures and unwarranted fees even after granting them permanent loan modifications.

Number of Californians Entering Foreclosure Jumps in Third Quarter
By Alejando Lazo, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 18, 2011

A big August surge in foreclosure actions by Bank of America and Bank of New York sent the number of California homeowners entering foreclosure to levels not seen in a year. The third-quarter jump in notices of default, the first formal step in the foreclosure process, came after such filings had dropped to a three-year low earlier this year. Defaults were up 25.9% from the prior quarter, according to according to San Diego-based DataQuick, a real estate information service.