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president. "Non-distressed sales‚ which are up nearly 50 percent from a year ago‚ are especially strong, while REO sales are down more than 51 percent, primarily due to a short supply of REOs. The significant increase in non-distressed sales has driven the share of equity sales to its highest level in more than four years." Equity sales, in comparison with total sales, gained slight traction in October 2012. The share of equity sales in October 2012 increased to 63.4 percent, up from 63 percent in September 2012, the highest level since June 2008, according to the C.A.R. report. Equity sales made up about 49 percent of all sales in October 2011. REO sales in California shrunk in October 2012, and short sales saw virtually little change. All distressed property sales dipped to 36.6 percent in October 2012, down from 37 percent in September 2012 and down from 51 percent in October 2011, according to the report. The share of short sales was 24.4 percent in October 2012 and 22.6 percent the year before. REO sales dropped from 12.3 percent in September 2012 to 11.8 percent in October 2012 and were down from 28 percent in 2011. Buyers are still snatching up REO properties as the available supply of REOs tightened in October 2012, with the Unsold Inventory Index for REOs falling from 2.2 months in September 2012 to 1.9 months in October 2012, according to the report. California DualTracking Ban Leads to Spike in Cancelled Foreclosures A specific provision in California's Homeowner Bill of Rights may have led to a surge in foreclosure cancellations, according to a November 2012 report from ForeclosureRadar. Foreclosure cancellations in California spiked 62.1 percent from September to October 2012 and 36.7 percent over a oneyear period, data from ForeclosureRadar revealed. The jump from September to October 2012 is the largest monthly increase since the data provider began tracking foreclosures in September 2006. ForeclosureRadar observed the increase may be due to a particular provision in the Homeowner Bill of Rights that places a 130 ban on dual-tracking. Dual-tracking occurs when a loan is being pushed through the foreclosure process while also being considered for a mortgage modification or short sale. Even though the Homeowner Bill of Rights doesn't take effect until the start of this year, ForeclosureRadar says it appears lenders have begun the process of canceling foreclosures that are being considered for short sales or modifications. "The California Homeowner Bill of Rights that takes effect in January 2013 is beginning to impact foreclosure trends," said Sean O'Toole, founder and CEO of Foreclosure Radar. "This is another example of where changes in foreclosure trends are driven by government intervention, and not necessarily economic recovery." The impact of dual-tracking is still uncertain, but O'Toole speculated, "the elimination of dual-tracking may avoid some unnecessary foreclosures, but will lengthen the foreclosure process and delay ultimate recovery. Expect further impacts to foreclosure trends in the months ahead." In addition, the $25 billion mortgage settlement placed a ban on dual-tracking, which took effect October 3, 2012, but the restrictions were for the five largest servicers involved: Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Ally. "Much of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights codifies for California what was in the National Mortgage Settlement, but it applies to all lenders," Susan Sierota, chief marketing officer at ForeclosureRadar, added. Fewer California properties entered the foreclosure process in October 2012. Foreclosure starts fell 8 percent month-overmonth, while foreclosure sales increased monthly by 9.3 percent, but fell 38.9 percent from 2011. Two other states in the West saw monthly declines in foreclosure starts during the same time period. In Arizona and Washington, October 2012 foreclosure starts fell 15 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively. Two other West coast states, Nevada and Oregon, saw foreclosure starts increase 32.2 percent and 58.5 percent, respectively. Foreclosure sales in Nevada came close to matching starts, increasing 33.8 percent, while foreclosure sales in Oregon fell 55.3 percent. In September 2012, all five Western states saw monthly declines in foreclosures starts. National MI Approved to Write Insurance in California National Mortgage Insurance Corporation (National MI) announced in November 2012 that it has been approved by the California Insurance Department to write mortgage insurance in the state. "Approval by the California Insurance Department is a critical step toward our operational launch, and in achieving our goal to provide mortgage insurance to homeowners in California and throughout the country," said Bradley Shuster, president and CEO of National MI. The new mortgage insurance company was approved in June to participate in an accelerated licensing process sponsored by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. In addition, National MI has applied for state licensing in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and is seeking approvals from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. According to company general counsel Glen Corso, National MI is "making good progress in working with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to receive their approvals" and is on track to start business early this year. NMI Holdings, Inc., based in California, announced in 2012 that it had raised $550 million in private capital to start the mortgage insurance venture. National MI estimates its available capital will support mortgage insurance coverage on more than $30 billion of mortgage loans and make homeownership available for roughly 150,000 households all over the country. Interthinx Adds MERS Compliance Audit Service Interthinx introduced a new MERS Compliance Audit Service in November 2012 as the latest addition to the Interthinx suite. The service helps MERS members avoid sanctions, penalties, or revocations that could result from falling out of compliance with the new MERS requirements. The Interthinx MERS Compliance Audit Service relies on a three-part strategy encompassing independent, third-party, annual reviews; monthly or quarterly portfolio

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