News

The U.S. Treasury Department has released plans for its Capital Assistance Program (CAP), a core element of the government’s Financial Stability Plan. The Treasury issued terms and conditions for CAP on Wednesday, saying that the new program is intended to support confidence in the health of the nation’s financial institutions and in the system as a whole, and promote lending to creditworthy borrowers.

Existing-home sales declined in January with some buyers waiting to see how details of the economic stimulus package would affect them, according to a new report released on Wednesday by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Freddie Mac today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) for the week ending February 26, 2009, showing little change in mortgage rates this week with only slight upticks in three of the four categories of loan products analyzed.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry addressed the board of directors of the Texas Association of Realtors during the organization’s annual Winter Meeting held in Austin this week. The meeting included discussions relating to the statewide real estate market and Texas economy, legislative issues affecting Texas homeowners, commercial real estate trends, and professional standards for Realtors.

Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS), a provider of integrated technology and services to the mortgage industry, has released its February 2009 LPS Mortgage Monitor. Among the findings, LPS reports that foreclosure starts have continued to increase across major product types over the past several months despite moratoria and mitigation.

NeighborWorks Center for Foreclosure Solutions announced yesterday that it has received a donation in the amount of $50,000 from Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. The contribution was awarded to help support foreclosure intervention and prevention strategies.

To provide faster service and acceptance of loan restructurings, Wingspan Portfolio Advisors, a Carrollton, Texas firm specializing in saving seriously delinquent loans from foreclosure, has selected electronic mortgage solutions from Houston-based SigniaDocs.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending February 20, 2009. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, dropped 15.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved a bill appended to the state’s budget package last week that institutes a 90-day foreclosure moratorium throughout the Golden State. Introduced by Sen.

Neil Barofsky, special inspector general for the $700 billion federal purse formerly known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), told congressional leaders on Tuesday that the government’s bank rescue efforts could be vulnerable to fraud, potentially stripping taxpayers of tens, maybe hundreds of billions of dollars.