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ยป Laurie Goodman, director of the Urban Institute's Housing Finance Policy Center, agreed. "We are very pleased to have a strategic alliance with CoreLogic. They are an incredible provider of data; this data is critical to doing independent, broad-based public policy research in the housing finance area. It's our hope that the alliance will continue to grow from here," Goodman said. To kick off the initiative, CoreLogic and the Urban Institute co-hosted a day-long event in the nation's capital titled "Data, Demand and Demographics: A Symposium on Housing Finance." The event featured keynote presentations and discussions on a number of topics, including future homeowner and rental demographics, increasing liquidity and transparency in the secondary markets, and improving credit availability. Chief among the speakers was Gene Sperling, director of the National Economic Council and assistant to President Obama on economic policy. "This event has given our strategic alliance some great momentum," Schwartz said. "When we look at the quality of speakers, panelists, and the turnout, it's easy to get excited about what this alliance can bring to the table in terms of housing policy insight." Rushmore Approved as Freddie Mac Seller/Servicer Irvine, California-based Rushmore Loan Management Services LLC made announcements of two positive corporate developments that the company says support a strong outlook for its business. Rushmore has received approval to act as a Freddie Mac seller/servicer. With the sanction from Freddie, Rushmore is now an approved seller/servicer for both GSEs, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, as well as an approved issuer of Ginnie Mae mortgagebacked securities. "The Freddie Mac approval will significantly expand the company's business, enabling Rushmore to originate and service loans for a new customer base," said Terry Smith, CEO of Rushmore. "This is an important designation for both our employees and broker clients, and we are confident that this will be a competitive advantage as we look to grow the business." Rushmore also announced that it received a positive rating from Standard & Poor's (S&P) Ratings Services, which assigned an average ranking to Rushmore as a residential special servicer and residential primary servicer. S&P specifically identified Rushmore's strengths as its experienced management and staff, its multiple auditing mechanisms, its proprietary technology along with a vendor system, its competitive servicing metrics, and good oversight and controls throughout the default areas. S&P ranked Rushmore's management and operations as above average. "This is a great vote of confidence for Rushmore as a growing organization," Smith said. "[W]e will continue to make investments in the company to ensure excellent service and controls that exceed customers' expectations." California Foreclosures Tick Up but Remain Lower Than Last Year Foreclosures edged up during the month of October in California but remained well below year-ago levels, according to PropertyRadar. Notices of default rose 15.3 percent, notices of trustee sales increased 4.1 percent, and foreclosure sales grew 3.9 percent from September to October. However, over the year, notices of default were down 45.2 percent, notices of trustee sale declined 59.2 percent, and foreclosure sales decreased 65.4 percent. Foreclosure sales continue to hover near record lows, according to PropertyRadar. Foreclosure inventories in California have been "trending mostly sideways since July," PropertyRadar said. "While the low level of foreclosures seems to be good news, the market is ignoring the 1.5 million underwater California homeowners at risk of default that can neither sell an existing home or buy another," said Madeline Schnapp, PropertyRadar's director of economic research. "These underwater homeowners are a big drag on the California real estate market recovery and keep much needed inventory off the market," Schnapp said. A closer look at foreclosure sales reveals a decline in foreclosures sold to third parties and an increase in REO sales. Third-party sales were down 2.1 percent over the month, while REO sales increased 7.6 percent, according to PropertyRadar. The REO increase can be partly attributed to an adjustment period after a VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM short interim during which banks stalled on foreclosures last summer after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency "specified minimum standards for handling borrower files subject to foreclosure," PropertyRadar explained. LRES Approved to Transact Business in Virgin Islands LRES, a California-based company specializing in commercial and residential valuations and asset management, announced it has received a Certificate of Authority to conduct business in the U.S. Virgin Islands. With the certificate, LRES is officially authorized to do business within 54 U.S. states and jurisdictions, expanding its national footprint. Continued expansion resulted in 35 percent growth for the company throughout the first half of 2013. "Our ability to conduct business with the U.S. Virgin Islands is part of our continued strategic business expansion and enables us to provide increased service for our clients as we approach 2014," said LRES CEO Roger Beane. "We look forward to capitalizing on this expansion and striving to be the business partner of choice for new and existing clients." STAT INSIGHT -32% Decline in California's foreclosure starts between October and November. Source: PropertyRadar 137