Real Estate News – May 28, 2012

It’s a mortgage problem that is likely to intensify as home-owning baby boomers by the millions shift into retirement: Although they may have significant financial assets tucked away in retirement accounts, their diminished monthly incomes may not be sufficient to meet some lenders’ hyper-strict underwriting rules (via latimes.com): http://lat.ms/KFewWp

MetLife, the biggest life insurer in United Sates, made an announcement that it will fold down its operation in mortgage business (via retirementplanning.org): http://bit.ly/MNkDYw

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s (JPM) EMC Mortgage unit was sued for breach of contract by a trust that financed the purchase of residential mortgage loans (via Bloomberg.com): http://bloom.bg/JZHmU3

Existing home sales in the United State increased in April and remain above a year ago, while home prices are also on the up, according to the latest data from the National Association of Realtors (via nuwireinvestor.com): http://bit.ly/KmJrGa

Shaking off a prolonged impact from the recession, fundamentals are gradually improving in all of the major commercial real estate sectors, according to the National Association of REALTORS® quarterly commercial real estate forecast.  The apartment rental sector has fully recovered and is growing (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/KU7hrp

In a case involving mortgage lending but which has direct application to real estate brokerage, the Supreme Court of the United States has determined that a violation of Sec. 2607(b) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”) only occurs when a split of a settlement-service fee paid by a consumer to a real estate settlement-service provider is split with a third party (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/KY8cat