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36 CASE-SHILLER INDEX SHOWS SLIGHT INCREASE; HOME PRICES STEADY Home prices as measured by S&P Dow Jones per- formed more or less as expected in February, with annual growth rates continuing to slow. e S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, consid- ered one of the preeminent measures among home price indicators, shows prices among 20 of the nation's biggest markets grew 0.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, matching January's rate of growth. Unadjusted, the index was unchanged month-over-month, though even that was an improvement over a 0.1 percent drop to start the year. e narrower 10-city composite index outperformed January's results, ticking up 0.9 percent adjusted and staying flat unadjusted. "Prices remained steady from January to February for the two composite indices," said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, adding, however, that "annual rates cooled the most we've seen in some time." On a year-over-year basis, the 20-city index gained 12.9 percent in February, while the 10-city composite climbed 13.1 percent. irteen cities saw lower annual rates in February, including Las Vegas, with a growth rate of 23.1 percent versus 24.9 percent in January. In addition, 13 cities posted declines on a monthly basis, with mostly markets along the West Coast seeing growth. Even with the West leading in gains, the region remains deflated compared to its peaks, and Denver and Dallas remain the only cities to climb to new price peaks since the crash. e Case-Shiller Indices is among three Febru- ary price metrics released recently. e first, put out by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, showed a 6.9 percent gain in house prices over the year, while Black Knight Financial Services' own Home Price Index showed a 7.6 percent increase. Despite reports of continued—albeit slower—price increases, Blitzer noted "other housing statistics are weak." "Sales of both new and existing homes are flat to down. e recovery in housing starts, now less than 1 million units at annual rates, is faltering," he said. Some blame rising interest rates for bringing down sales rates, while others point to difficulties in qualify- ing for loans and concerns about consumer confidence. Whatever the cause, Blitzer said, "[t]he result is less demand and fewer homes being built." "Five years into the recovery from the recession, the economy will need to look to gains in consumer spending and business investment more than housing. Long over- due activity in residential construction would be welcome but is certainly not assured," he concluded. Rate of GSE Mortgages Seriously Delinquent in February, down from 2.33% in January Source: The Federal Housing Finance Agency STAT INSIGHT 2.28% MOVERS & SHAKERS KEEP UP WITH WHO'S DOING WHAT AND WHO WENT WHERE Got something to share with us? Send it to Editor@DSNews.com. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34 Fabrizio & Brook Welcomes COO Fabrizio & Brook announced the hiring of John P. Marecki as the firm's COO. Marecki joins the firm with more than 30 years of experience in the mortgage industry. Previously the SVP of default administration at Flagstar Bank, Marecki is a 30-year industry veteran. His vast industry experience, knowledge, and skills will help the overall operations of the firm. Attorney Joins Ohio Organization to Reduce Foreclosures Bob Hoose, partner from the Law Offices of John D. Clunk, was sworn-in as a member of the Ohio Mortgage Bankers Association. As a newly sworn-in member of the Ohio MBA, Hoose plans to work with the other members of the organization to pass legislation to reduce timeframes and fast track foreclosures in the state of Ohio. Walz Group Welcomes New Attorney Walz Group recently announced it has promoted Maria Moskver to the position of chief compliance officer and general counsel. Moskver has been with Walz for nearly two years serving as VP of compliance services. The promotion to CCO strengthens her position to lead the company's expanding compliance product offerings. IDS SEES SIGNIFICANT E-SIGNATURE ADOPTION IN 2013 Mortgage document preparation vendor International Document Services (IDS) announced more than half of all document packages processed by the company in 2013 were signed electronically. Additionally, after the IRS's approval of electronically signed 4506-T documents in late 2012, 18.5 percent of all 4506-T documents processed by IDS were e-signed in 2013. "Electronic signature adoption continues to grow amongst lenders, particularly as more federal and state entities begin to accept e-signed documents," said Mark Mackey, EVP at IDS. "Now that the Federal Housing Administration has begun accepting e-signed documents, we expect to see continued growth in e-sign adoption, both within our customer base and industry wide." 2013 proved to be a banner year for the company, experiencing more than 20 percent growth in all of its sales territory regions, with the most growth occurring in the Midwest region, which posted a 31 percent increase. Due to the high volume, IDS increased its internal staff by 45 percent and its customer service staff by more than 72 percent to manage the new customer growth. "Compliance has become a competitive advantage for lenders, and despite declining volumes in the industry, IDS saw an increase in its customer base, due in large part to the compliance features built in to idsDoc," Mackey said. "When you take into account all of the audit capabilities and e-sign functionality idsDoc possesses, plus our integrations with numerous LOS systems and our outstanding customer service, IDS stands head and shoulders above its competitors."

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