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40 SURVEY: MANY STILL BELIEVE HOUSING RECOVERY STILL THREE TO FIVE YEARS AWAY In a quarterly survey of more than 100 real estate experts and economists, real estate data firm Zillow found 40 percent of respondents believe it will take another three to five years for the housing market to normalize, based on current home price trends and homebuyer activity. Nearly a third of panelists took a more optimistic view, predicting the market will stabilize one to two years from now, while one in five responded that housing has either already returned to normal or will within the next 12 months. When asked about headwinds facing the market right now, respondents pointed to low household formation rates, which have been stymied in part by a challenged economy. According to another recent study from Zillow, more than a third of adults living in the U.S. were living with at least one roommate as of 2012, up from a quarter in 2000. While those renters represent millions of potential new formations in the years to come, they remain stuck where they are as jobs and wages slowly grow. Demographic issues are also at play, Zillow reported. While more millennials seem to be holding off on major commitments—including homeownership, marriage, and parenthood—a growing number of Americans nearing retirement age are also opting to stay in their homes longer, keeping the nation's housing inventory from making any meaningful recovery. "We've reached a point in the recovery where the only real cure-all is time," said Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow Chief Economist. "[T] he landscape is slowly changing, as incomes begin to grow, negative equity fades, and new households start to form. ese shifts won't occur overnight, but they are happening. Patience will be a virtue over the next few years as we wait for these traditional fundamentals to more fully take hold in the market." LAWSUIT ACCUSES SERVICER OF ILLEGALLY MARKING UP DEFAULT SERVICING FEES Atlanta-based mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial faced trouble again at the end of 2014, this time from a lawsuit accusing the company of illegally marking up its default servicing fees, according to court records. e civil lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, as David Weiner vs. Ocwen Financial Corporation and Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC, is seeking class action status. "is case concerns fraudulent practices committed by Ocwen in connection with its home mortgage loan servicing business," the plaintiff wrote in the complaint. "Taking advantage of the economic downturn and the increasing number of loans in default, Ocwen devised a scheme to deceive homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments into paying, or believing they have to pay, hundreds or thousands of dollars in unlawfully marked- up fees." e suit alleges that Ocwen used one of its affiliate companies, Altisource, and third-party vendors to illegally generate "fee income and larger profits for Ocwen and its affiliates." According to the lawsuit, "Ocwen's unlawful loan servicing practices exemplify how America's lending industry has run off the rails." Ocwen, the nation's largest non-bank mortgage servicer, has come under extreme scrutiny for its practices in the last year. In December 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ordered Ocwen to pay $2 billion in relief to underwater borrowers plus $125 million in refunds to foreclosure victims over a series of alleged servicing errors and illegal servicing activities. Last month, the New York Department of Financial Services announced that an investigation of Ocwen revealed that the company had sent 7,000 backdated foreclosure notices to borrowers after their payment deadline had passed. Also last month, Ocwen executive chairman William Erbey announced that the company was setting aside $100 million for a potential settlement over the backdated foreclosure notices. PRESIDENT NOMINATES INVESTMENT BANKER FOR TREASURY'S SENIOR DOMESTIC FINANCE POSITION President Barack Obama nominated Anto- nio Weiss, global head of investment banking at merger-advisory firm Lazard Ltd., for U.S. Treasury Under Secretary, the top domestic finance position with the government organiza- tion, according to a statement released by the White House. Weiss, 48, is replacing Mary Miller, who left the Treasury Under Secretary position last year. Matthew Rutherford has been serving as acting Under Secretary since Miller's departure. e appointment of Weiss as Treasury Under Secretary must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. As Treasury's Under Secretary for domestic finance, Weiss will be responsible, for implementing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act and other financial regulation as well as coordinating capital markets, banking, and debt financing. Weiss has been with Lazard since 1993 and has served in various leadership positions with the company, including managing director, vice chairman of European investment banking, and global head of mergers and acquisitions. He graduated with a bachelor's degree from Yale College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. At Harvard, Weiss was a Baker Scholar and Loeb Fellow in Finance. President Obama issued the following state- ment regarding the nomination of Weiss and three others to key administration posts: "I am confident that these experienced and hardworking individuals will help us tackle the important challenges facing America, and I am grateful for their service. I look forward to working with them in the months and years ahead." Lazard and Weiss have been the subject of some controversy due to the company's alleged involvement in tax-inversion deals, which involve American companies changing their addresses to foreign countries which have more tax-friendly laws in order to avoid paying taxes imposed by the U.S. government. Atlantic City had the nation's top foreclosure rate among metro areas in November 2014 with one foreclosure filing for every 289 housing units, according to RealtyTrac. KNOW THIS

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