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IN THE NEWS Increase in Inventory Eases Competition for Homes Competition for homes eased in May overall due to a monthly increase in inventory, according to Redfin's latest bidding war report. The company noted, however, that competition in many parts of California, while down from the previous month, remained relatively high. Although 69.5 percent of offers made by Redfin agents nationwide faced competition during the month, that share is down from 73.3 percent in April. Competition was the most heated in California markets, according to Redfin. In San Francisco, 87.9 percent of home purchase offers faced multiple bids in May, the most out of the 21 major markets tracked by Redfin. In Los Angeles and Orange County, 86.1 percent and 83.9 percent of offers, respectively, faced competition. Though, in Orange County, bids for the same property eased significantly, falling by nearly 10 percentage points from 93.6 percent in April. San Diego also saw a significant decrease. The percent of listings with multiple bids in the San Diego market was 72.6 percent in May, down from 86.9 percent in April. Bidding wars in competitive markets also led many buyers to pay above asking price, with 96.8 percent of the winning offers in San Francisco above asking price. On average, winning bids in the metro were 9.7 percent higher than sellers' asking prices. Comparatively speaking, out of all 21 markets examined, Redfin found 49 percent of winning bids were above asking price, with buyers paying about 1.4 percent more than the list price. Auction.com Adds Online Research Center Auction.com, headquartered in Irvine, California, announced the launch of an online market research division. The Auction. com Research Center provides a range of free reports based on macro, commercial, and residential research. The free reports include monthly employment monitors, as well as market-specific analysis covering the multifamily, hospitality, industrial, office, and retail sectors in the 68 nation's top 10 commercial markets—Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. The company's residential market reports cover Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Riverside, and Tampa. "Our goal is to support real estate investment decisions across the industry," said Peter Muoio, Ph.D., chief economist and head of research for Auction.com. "By centralizing our findings and giving the industry access to our expertise, we hope to facilitate sound business practices that support ongoing market recovery." Muoio is founder of the research and consulting firm Maximus Advisors, which Auction.com acquired in December. Fee-based reports are also available through the Auction.com Research Center. Parties can order custom reports as well. "The paid reports provide different depths of analysis and include forecasts, submarket analysis, and deeper-dive information on the metro and property market in question," Muoio explained. "However, we make most of our findings broadly available so that industry practitioners, lenders, investors, and individuals can make informed business decisions." Equifax Endorses DocMagic Solution for E-Signatures Equifax gave its stamp of approval to DocMagic's eSign solution for electronic 4506-T requests. This means Equifax clients can use DocMagic's eSign for electronic signatures when submitting orders for information to validate potential borrowers' earnings. The IRS first began accepting electronic signatures in January for 4506-T forms, which are used by the mortgage industry to verify income during the application process. "The IRS has very strict requirements for accepting these orders electronically," said Melanie Feliciano, chief legal officer of California-based DocMagic. "Our eSign product meets these requirements and the team at Equifax has reviewed our product and confirmed that." IRS submissions must be made through an Income Verification Express Service (IVES) participant such as Equifax. According to a company release, in order for an electronic signature to be accepted, the submitter must also prove the signer had sole control over the signature; the signer must consent to electronically signing; and the electronic signature must be unique to the individual and establish the signer's intent to be bound by the terms of the 4506-T, among other requirements. "Equifax customers are embracing electronic information requests, which has served to streamline their operations, saving them time and money," said Jeff Knott, senior director of product management at Equifax Verification Services. "Our customers that depend upon DocMagic for documents and compliance will now find it easy to get the tax verification information they require." Wells Fargo Commits $39M for Housing Efforts, Settles REO Issues To resolve allegations of housing discrimination, Wells Fargo agreed to pay more than $42 million, of which $39 million will be used to support housing programs in more than 40 communities nationwide. The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) filed a federal housing discrimination complaint with HUD against the San Francisco-based bank in April 2012. The complaint alleged Wells Fargo's REO properties in communities of color were not well maintained or marketed compared to properties in white neighborhoods. Of the total amount of funds paid by Wells Fargo, $39 million will be used to support homeownership and assist with neighborhood stabilization, property rehabilitation, and housing development in communities of color across 45 neighborhoods. The bank will also pay $3 million to NFHA and 13 fair housing organizations for costs and damages related to the investigations and attorney fees. "This represents a significant commitment by Wells Fargo, HUD, and NFHA to invest in programs that will strengthen minority communities affected by foreclosure," said J.K. Huey, SVP at Wells Fargo. In addition, Wells Fargo has committed to ongoing enhancements of its procedures for maintaining and marketing REOs. The bank will also extend the amount of time REOs will be exclusively available for purchase by owner-occupants or nonprofits. "Wells Fargo's investment demonstrates an ongoing commitment to stabilizing African-American and Hispanic neighborhoods in a way that advances equal housing opportunities, and HUD is committed to working collaboratively with Wells Fargo to support the effort," said Bryan Greene, HUD

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