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» Furthermore, 27 percent of investor-purchased homes were bought from other institutional investors versus 12 percent for other buyers. During a 12-month period ending in February, Radar Logic also reported both investors and non-investors paid more per square foot. For buyers other than institutional investors, the median price paid per square foot increased 20 percent over the last year, while the price paid by institutional investors surged 65 percent. However, institutional investors paid 34 percent less per square foot compared to other buyers in February. After tracking price trends for investors and other buyers, Radar Logic concluded the recovery appears to be partly driven by an increase in prices paid by non-investors as well, which suggests housing improvements might be sustainable. However, the housing market in the Atlanta area still remains at risk if after some years investors exit the single-family rental market and mortgage rates are too high to encourage demand. "If, at that time, the large investors decide to reallocate capital and downsize their portfolios of single family homes, they may put downward pressure on home prices at a time when the low mortgage rates of today are just a memory," Radar Logic noted in its report. McCalla Raymer Completes Acquisition of Prommis Assets McCalla Raymer, LLC, announced it has completed its acquisition of a substantial portion of assets from Prommis Holdings for an undisclosed amount. Prommis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in mid-March. According to a company release, the transaction was approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Thursday, April 25. McCalla Raymer's purchase included hardware and software used by Prommis in providing support services to the law firm, as well as furniture and leased facilities. The transaction also included the continuation of employment for about 260 Prommis employees. "We have achieved our goals of safeguarding our clients from any disruption in service, as well as providing continued employment for over 260 Atlanta area residents. We are creating a strong team by employing many of the best Prommis employees with the McCalla Raymer team thereby building excellent customer service for our clients," said managing partner Marty Stone. VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM "In this time of increased focus on compliance and regulatory issues by our clients, we believe bringing the support services back into McCalla Raymer will allow us to more strategically manage this area, which will be better for our clients and the firm," Stone added. McCalla Raymer specializes in legal services including foreclosure, bankruptcy, closing and eviction services, litigation, and commercial transactions throughout Florida and Georgia. In late 2012, Ocwen also purchased Homeward Residential, a Dallas-based servicer and originator. Ocwen reported Homeward's lending operation originated about $2.4 billion of fundings with another $0.4 billion originated through partnerships, while total Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) volume reached $415 million. In the first quarter, the company completed 24,184 loan modifications, of which 34 percent were through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Ocwen Reports Surge in Profit, Record Revenue in Q1 Georgia Keeps Failed Banks' Business Within State Borders Ocwen Financial Corporation reported record revenue for the first quarter of 2013 and more than doubled net income from Q1 2012. Ocwen's net income jumped to $45.1 million— or $0.31 per share—in Q1 2013, up from 19.3 million—or $0.14 per share—a year earlier. Revenue for the Atlanta-based company surged 147 percent year-over-year to $406.7 million, while income from operations increased 108 percent to $163.1 million during the same time period. "The company's string of record quarterly revenues will continue into the second quarter as we benefit from a full quarter of ResCap revenue and our recent acquisition of Ally Bank's mortgage servicing rights," said Bill Erbey, Ocwen's chairman. "Ocwen's core earnings and cash flow were strong in the first quarter, and we should see these trend higher as a percentage of revenue as we drive down costs and delinquencies on newly acquired business," Erbey continued. "Ocwen's lower funding costs and improving pre-pay speeds on non-prime loans should also support better performance versus our original expectations." This year, Ocwen has seen several of its acquisitions come to completion. In February, the Residential Capital, LLC, acquisition added $269 billion of unpaid principal balance to the company's servicing portfolio. In April, Ocwen closed deals with Ally Bank for $63.4 billion of Fannie Mae mortgage servicing rights (MSRs) and another $21.2 billion of Freddie Mac MSRs. In the same month, Ocwen completed the purchase of Genworth Financial Home Equity Access, which was the number one reverse mortgage originator based on January 2013 industry data. The reverse mortgage business will be renamed Liberty Home Equity Solutions. Georgia is home to a quarter of this year's FDIC-insured bank failures. Three of its community-based lenders were shuttered by state and federal regulators between January 1 and May 31—more than any other state's share of the 12 FDIC bank closings during the first five months of this year. All of the Georgia banks that have gone bust in 2013 have been picked up by institutions that are also headquartered in the state. The latest Georgia institution to go under was Sunrise Bank, a three-branch operation based out of Valdosta. On May 10, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Synovus Bank to assume all $57.8 million of Sunrise Bank's deposits and to purchase $13.2 million of its assets. The FDIC said it will retain the failed bank's remaining $47.6 million in assets for later disposition. Sunrise Bank's collapse cost the Deposit Insurance Fund an estimated $17.3 million, according to the FDIC. Douglas County Bank in Douglasville, Georgia, was closed on April 26 and acquired by Hamilton State Bank of Hoschton, Georgia. Frontier Bank in LaGrange was shuttered by regulators on March 8; its deposits and assets were subsequently picked up by HeritageBank of the South based out of Albany, Georgia. Ten FDIC-insured Georgia institutions were closed last year. KNOW THIS The average loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of mortgaged properties in Georgia in Q4 2012 was 82.6%, according to CoreLogic's latest negative equity study. 87

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