Realtors Lower 2007-2010 Home-Sales Estimates by 14 Percent
By Alan Zibel and Jeff Bater, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 21, 2011

U.S. home sales from 2007 through 2010 were about 14 percent lower than first reported, according to the National Association of Realtors, a sharp revision showing the housing bust was far worse than initially thought. The NAR revised downward its sales figures since 2007, using annual Census survey data to recalculate how many homes were sold. The revised figures came as the real estate trade group said sales of previously occupied homes in the U.S. rose 4.0 percent in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.42 million. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a 2.0 percent monthly increase.

California Suing Fannie and Freddie
By Nick Timiraos and Ruth Simon, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 21, 2011

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris filed suit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Tuesday, seeking to force the firms to answer a detailed list of questions after the firms' federal regulator sought to block an open-ended inquiry by the state. The lawsuits, filed in San Francisco County Superior Court, are the latest salvo by Ms. Harris against the mortgage-finance giants and their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

U.S. Watchdog Eyes Zero Interest Mortgage Plan
By JoAnne Allen, Reuters, Dec. 20, 2011

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is actively considering a proposal that would allow for a reduction in the outstanding mortgage debt of homeowners in Chapter 13 bankruptcy, Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Foreclosure Sales Still Pummeling Home Prices
By Les Christie, CNNMoney, Dec. 21, 2011

Nearly five years into the crisis, foreclosures are still weighing heavily on home prices. A whopping 46 percent of homes sold in November were either short sales or REOs — as homes repossessed by lenders are called, according to a survey by Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance.

New Mortgage Tool Can Help Avoid Pain, Cost of Rejection
By Teke Wiggin, AOL Real Estate, Dec. 21, 2011

If there's one thing lenders have learned from the housing meltdown, it's that making high-risk loans entails, well, a lot of risk. As a result, banks have severely tightened lending standards and increased paperwork requirements. That's made the application process quite a doozy for aspiring homeowners. But a new mortgage qualification tool could help borrowers avoid this scenario. Perhaps the most sophisticated of its kind, the tool assesses a borrower's loan qualifications based on various factors and determines, lickety-split, what options he or she has to choose from.

Nevada Sues LPS
By Aljandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 16, 2011

Nevada has filed suit against a major player in the foreclosure business, Lender Processing Services, claiming the company is responsible for perpetrating widespread consumer fraud in the Silver State. The lawsuit against Florida-based LPS and several of its subsidiaries alleges that the company falsified, forged or fraudulently filed “countless” documents in foreclosure cases across the Silver State, requiring employees to execute or notarize as many as 4,000 foreclosure documents a day. Click here to read the LPS lawsuit.

Living By Default
By James Surowiecki, New Yorker, Dec. 19, 2011

We normally say that a company “went bankrupt,” implying that it had no choice. But when, recently, American Airlines filed for bankruptcy, it did so deliberately. The airline had four billion dollars in the bank and could have kept paying its bills. But it has been losing money for a while, and its board decided that it was foolish to keep throwing good money after bad. Declaring bankruptcy will trim American’s debt load and allow it to break its union contracts, so that it can slim down and cut costs.

SEC Charges Ex-Fannie, Freddie CEOs With Fraud
By Dereck Kravitz, BusinessWeek, Dec. 16, 2011

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday brought civil fraud charges against six former top executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying they misled investors about risky subprime loans that mortgage giants held when the housing bubble burst. Those charged include the agencies' two former CEOs, Fannie's Daniel Mudd and Freddie's Richard Syron. They are the highest-profile individuals to be charged in connection with the 2008 financial crisis.

Treat Foreclosure As A Crime Scene
By Matt Stroller, Politico, Dec. 15, 2011

Bubbling under the surface of politics is the foreclosure crisis — where the power of big finance is brushing up against the rule of law. The party leaders seem to have decided it is essentially a giant — but unavoidable — tragedy. GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney said foreclosures have to clear for the housing market to reset. The Obama administration, meanwhile, has spent only about $2 billion of the $75 billion authorized for the Home Affordable Modification Program.

Home Builders Happier, Stocks Not So Much
Home Builders Are a Little Happier, But Home-builder Stocks Are Not
By Mark Gongloff, Dec. 19, 2011

The National Association of Home Builders’ housing-market confidence index rose to 21 from 19, the NAHB said a little while ago, a couple of points higher than expected.

Foreclosure activity drops 3% in November
A new wave of foreclosures may roll in early next year: RealtyTrac

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch, December 15, 2011

CHICAGO — Foreclosure activity dropped 3% in November, compared with October, but the seasonal slowdown may just precede another wave of foreclosures, according to the co-founder of RealtyTrac.

Occupy Movement Occupies Foreclosures
By Jerry Nelson, Huffington Post, December 14, 2011

The yellowing house on the street in the east side has sat empty for years. Three years ago the predator, formerly known as Countrywide, refused to do something about the increasing interest rate on the mortgage which was filled to the top with tucked away clauses and trapdoors for the owners to fall through. Instead of working with the homeowners, Countrywide sold the paper to Bank of America. Bank of America started the eviction proceedings to put the owners and their belongings into the street. The owners weren't alone. Sixteen owners for every 1,000 homes are in foreclosure -- the highest rate in New York and one of the highest in the country.

Home-Sale Data Will Be Revised Back to 2007, Realtor Group Says
By Kathleen M. Howley, Bloomberg, December 14, 2011

The National Association of Realtors will restate four years of monthly home-sales data next week while leaving median prices unchanged.

Appeals court rejects investigative subpoena for Plantation foreclosure law firm records
By Peter Franceschina, Sun Sentinel, December 14, 2011

For the second time this year, an appeals court ruled Wednesday that Florida's attorney general does not have the authority to investigate South Florida foreclosure law firms under the state's deceptive and unfair practices law.

State’s top court to rule on constitutionality of its foreclosure mediation program
By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun, December 14, 2011

The Nevada Supreme Court is in the unusual and uncomfortable position of deciding whether a state program that it operates is constitutional.

Prudential Sells Real Estate Brokerage Unit to Brookfield
By Noah Buhayar, Bloomberg, Dec. 6, 2011

Prudential Financial, the second-biggest U.S. life insurer, sold its real estate brokerage and relocation business to a unit of Brookfield Asset Management for proceeds of about $110 million. The acquisition makes Brookfield Residential the second- largest global relocation operation and third-largest residential real estate brokerage in North America.

Florida Supreme Court Will Rule on Palm Beach County Foreclosure Case
By Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post, Dec. 9, 2011

The Florida Supreme Court said Thursday it will rule on an already settled Palm Beach County foreclosure case because the opinion could impact the "mortgage foreclosure crisis throughout this state." At issue is whether the bank can still be held accountable for fraudulent documents if it voluntarily dismisses the foreclosure case when challenged.

Nevada Foreclosure Fraud Revealed By Transcripts
By Marissa Mike, KSNV-TV, Dec. 8, 2011

The massive robo-signing scandal that throws into question tens of thousands of Las Vegas foreclosures is unfolding. Newly-released transcripts from last month's Grand Jury hearing shed light on how the foreclosure fraud went down. The workers, who were employed at Lender Processing Services (LPS) under Gary Trafford and Geraldine Sheppard, admitted to forging signatures on tens of thousands of notices of default.

Road Map to a Housing Rebound
By Meg Handley, U.S. News & World Report, Dec. 2, 2011

If you're a homeowner these days — and almost two thirds of Americans are--the housing market generally doesn't fall into the realm of pleasant dinner conversation. The once-booming industry has been bruised and bloodied from nearly every angle: Home prices have plunged 30 percent nationally over the past five years, millions of Americans have lost their homes to foreclosure, and millions more are on the brink with underwater mortgages. Still others are seriously delinquent on their home loans.

With Mortgages at 4%, Demand for Home-Purchase Loans Rises
By Scott Reckard, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 8, 2011

With 30-year mortgage rates still averaging a rock-bottom 4 percent, applications to purchase homes rose after Thanksgiving to the highest level in four months. Freddie Mac's weekly report on home lender offerings, released Thursday, showed the typical rate for a 30-year loan at 3.99 percent, the sixth straight week at or slightly below 4 percent.  Last year at this time, the 30-year fixed loan averaged 4.61 percent.

California, Nevada AGs Join Forces To Fight Foreclosure Fraud
By Michael Martinez, CNN, Dec. 6, 2011

Saying their states are hardest hit by the nation's foreclosure and mortgage crises, the attorneys general of California and Nevada formalized Tuesday a joint investigation alliance to help homeowners victimized by fraud, officials said.

Realtors Report 20% Cancellation Rate
By Diana Olick, CNBC, Dec. 5, 2011

For the past several months, Realtors across the nation have been reporting an ever-increasing number of cancelled existing home sale contracts. The latest Realtors Confidence Index now puts the cancellation rate at 20 percent, way up from the historical norm of around four to six percent.

Some Florida Lawmakers Want to Repossess Foreclosed Homes More Quickly
By Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Post, Dec. 6, 2011

Some Florida lawmakers want to tweak a rarely used fast-track foreclosure law to shrink the state's court backlog and as an end run around Wall Street reforms that may bar non-judicial foreclosures.

Coakley Urges Congress To Investigate Ally Financial
By Jenifer B. McKim, Boston Globe, Dec. 6, 2011

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley today urged US lawmakers to investigate Ally Financial Inc. and its subsidiary, GMAC Mortgage, for allegedly carrying out illegal foreclosures and submitting false documents related to property seizures. Coakley made the request in a letter sent five days after she filed a civil lawsuit against GMAC Mortgage and four other major US lenders for alleged mortgage fraud in Massachusetts.

Occupy Movement Moves Into Foreclosures
By Walter Hamilton, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 6, 2011

The Occupy movement stages demonstrations at foreclosed homes in nearly two dozen states. In California, protesters help families move back into their seized houses.