Real Estate News – May 5, 2011

It’s the Cinco De Mayo edition of “Real Estate News” and we have a fiesta of stories making headlines today:

Stars Align for Multifamily Market’s Rise (via rcanalytics.com): http://bit.ly/lYcdwa

About a third of all home sales nationwide – half in the Twin Cities – during April were foreclosures, causing what analysts call a “double dip” in housing prices. Prices during April fell  0.7 percent below prior lows experienced in March 2009, according to Clear Capital (www.clearcapital.com), which puts out a monthly Home Data Index Market Report (via StarTribune): http://bit.ly/k70Ge3

The city attorney of Los Angeles filed a civil complaint Wednesday against Deutsche Bank AG, alleging it allowed hundreds of foreclosed residential properties to fall into such disrepair as to become public nuisances (via online.WSJ.com): http://on.wsj.com/jDAaiC

The national inventory of REO properties rose in March to a record high of 2.2 million. Foreclosure starts also increased by 33 percent month-over-month, according to the March Mortgage Monitor report by Lending Processing Services Inc. (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/j0OCuG

Foreclosure Pipeline “Bloated”; New Delinquencies Down (via MortgageNewsDaily.com): http://bit.ly/jA4inP

There’s been another round of complaints from the Minnesota Department of Commerce against several mortgage originators and closing companies for “allegedly misappropriating funds, charging fees for services not rendered, paying illegal rebates and misleading both lenders and borrowers in order to drum up business” (via StarTribune.com): http://bit.ly/iHDU80

With foreclosures up nearly 42 percent last month, the city of Las Vegas is hosting a Home Rescue Fair to help teach home owners how they can save their homes (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/kZ1gh3

Mortgage Lawsuits:  Skeletons in the Closet (via economist.com): http://econ.st/ktQOhq