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IN THE NEWS New Mexico rank: 14 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate March 2013 2.0% Unemployment Rate 3.5% 6.9% year ago 1.9% 4.1% 6.9% New York Bound for Economic Recovery Despite Foreclosure Backlog year-over-year change 4.2% -15.2% 0.0% Top County TorraNCe CouNTy 90+ Day Delinquency Rate March 2013 2.8% Foreclosure Rate 7.4% year ago 2.9% 7.0% year-over-year change -4.8% 6.0% Top Core-Based Statistical area LaS VegaS, NM 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate March 2013 3.2% 5.2% year ago 2.3% 5.4% year-over-year change 37.6% -3.9% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the March 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary March 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. New York rank: 3 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate March 2013 3.3% Unemployment Rate 6.2% 8.2% year ago 3.1% 6.0% 8.5% year-over-year change 8.5% 2.6% -3.5% Top County SullivaN CouNTY 90+ Day Delinquency Rate March 2013 3.2% Foreclosure Rate 3.3% year ago 3.2% 3.5% year-over-year change -0.5% -6.4% Top Core-Based Statistical area KiNgSToN, NY 90+ Day Delinquency Rate Foreclosure Rate March 2013 5.0% 9.2% year ago 4.3% 8.5% year-over-year change 15.7% 8.1% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the March 2013 foreclosure rate. All figures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate reflects preliminary March 2013 figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Applied Analytics. 100 New York may be dealing with a heavy foreclosure burden, but the state is still bound for a strong economic recovery, according to a report released by HUD and Treasury. While foreclosures are improving across the country, New York has remained a concern due to its long foreclosure timeline and backlog of distressed inventory. RealtyTrac, ranked New York as the state with the longest foreclosure timeline, which averaged 1,049 days in Q1 2013. Despite this obstacle, a report from the Obama administration highlighted factors that show the market has proven itself in other ways. For one, the New York metropolitan area is the largest job market in the nation, and the area has shown economic resilience through the Great Recession. For example, New York experienced an average annual employment decline of 2.5 percent from Q2 2008 through Q 4 2009 compared with the national average of 3.5 percent, according to the federal report. Post-recession, New York jobs increased at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent from Q1 2010 through Q1 2013, compared with a rate of 1.3 percent for the nation. Concerning housing, existing and new home sales have stabilized following a dramatic decline in 2006. Based on data from CoreLogic, the government report also noted home prices in New York increased 20 percent faster than the national average between 2000 and 2006, but home prices fell by only 17 percent from the 2006 peak to the 2009 low. Meanwhile, the national peak-tolow decline sits at 31 percent. The New York rental market is also among the tightest in the nation, with the vacancy rate at 3.4 percent in Q 4 2012, up from 3.1 percent a year ago but still well below the national rate, which went from 6.3 percent to 5.7 percent during the same time period, the report noted. New York has also received a high share of mortgage assistance. According to federal officials, from April 2009 through the end of February 2013, nearly 231,600 homeowners received mortgage assistance in the New York metropolitan area. That figure is more than eight times the number of completed foreclosures (27,200) during the same time period. "This relatively high ratio of mortgage assistance to foreclosures in the New York MSA [metropolitan statistical area] since April 2009 (8.5 to 1 compared to 2 to 1 for the nation) is likely related to a relatively stronger local economy and lower unemployment rates over this time, making it easier to effect mortgage assistance," the federal report stated. Officials also noted New York City has been awarded millions in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds, including $24.3 million to purchase and redevelop foreclosed and abandoned properties. NY AG Alleges Servicing Violations, Threatens to Sue BofA, Wells Fargo New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman revealed plans to take legal action against Bank of America (BofA) and Wells Fargo for allegedly violating the terms of the National Mortgage Settlement reached in February 2012. Schneiderman's office is accusing the banks of 339 servicing violations related to the timeline for processing mortgage modifications. More specifically, the attorney general named four servicing standards mandated under the settlement that the banks allegedly violated, one of which requires the servicer to make a loan modification decision within 30 days of receiving a complete mod application. Another requirement allows the borrower 30 days to submit missing documents or correct issues found in the loan modification application. Borrowers must also receive written acknowledgement regarding receipt of a loan modification application within three business days, and servicers must notify borrowers of all missing documents in the submitted mod application within five business days of receipt. Last year, federal and state officials negotiated a landmark $25 billion mortgage settlement with the two banks and three other large servicers—JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Ally Financial. "The five mortgage servicers that signed the National Mortgage Settlement are legally required to take specific, rigorous, and enforceable steps to protect homeowners," Schneiderman said in a statement. "Wells Fargo and Bank of America have flagrantly violated those obligations, putting hundreds

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