Real Estate News – April 5, 2011

Four states are considering laws that would affect how appraisers should consider the sale of distressed properties (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/fyvbnQ

Timeshare owners who are desperate to get rid of their properties are increasingly becoming targets of scams that promise to get them out of the deals and even help them make a profit, the Federal Trade Commission warns (via REALTORMag): http://bit.ly/dX6iu2

Fourteen U.S. lenders are on the verge of agreements with federal bank regulators to overhaul their handling of foreclosures and treatment of delinquent borrowers in response to allegations of abuses that emerged last fall (via online.WSJ.com): http://on.wsj.com/dYjetG

A resurgence of private capital is needed to extricate the U.S. housing market from its reliance on government guarantees, a top Federal Reserve official said Tuesday (via blogs.WSJ.com): http://on.wsj.com/hqWA0z

Loans tied to commercial mortgage-backed securities hit a record delinquency rate in March, with 9.42% of all such loans having missed payments, loan research-service firm Trepp LLC said (via online.WSJ.com): http://on.wsj.com/eDnET0