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30 DISTRESSED SALES SHARE FALLS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN EIGHT YEARS Distressed sales (short sales and REO property sales) accounted for just 12.7 percent of residential real estate transactions nationwide in 2014, the lowest share since 2007, according to Black Knight's February 2015 Mortgage Monitor released last month. e share of distressed sales for 2014 was down from 17 percent reported for 2013, according to Black Knight. e distressed sales share reached its peak in 2011 when distressed sales accounted for 33 percent of all residential real estate transactions. Alongside the decline in short sales, traditional market sales outpaced their 2013 levels and reached their highest level since 2007, according to Black Knight. Short sales declined by 45 percent year-over-year in 2014, and REO sales dropped by 16 percent. e average short sale discount for 2014 was 23 percent, meaning properties sold in short sales for an average of 77 cents on the dollar as compared to traditional market sales. e short sale discount reached its peak of 25.3 percent in July 2013. By comparison, the REO discount is on the rise, increasing to 27 percent, its highest level since Q 4 2012, according to Black Knight. e peak for REO discounts was 29 percent, reached in April 2009. 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. Parkside Lending Announces Two New Hires Parkside Lending has announced the addition of two key staff members to support its continued, substantial growth. Robin Gilmore has been hired as EVP of operational strategy with responsibility for overseeing the build-out of infrastructure and tools needed for the company's expansion. She brings more than 23 years of experience in the industry and has a B.S. in accounting from the University of Maryland. Gilmore's background includes positions with Kinecta, LoanDepot, Fannie Mae, and Countrywide. Joann Berger has been hired as underwriting manager for Parkside. Berger brings 33 years of experience in the lending business to Parkside Lending, including work in underwriting, collections, escrow accounts, closings, regional training, sales and risk management. Applied Business Software Hires Wyatt Gilbert Applied Business Software Inc. (ABS), developer of The Mortgage Office and The Loan Office, loan servicing software solutions for the lending industry, is excited to announce the hiring of Wyatt Gilbert in national sales, to further develop their growing presence with The Loan Office software, which launched in April 2014. RCO Legal Names New Managing Shareholder RCO Legal, P.S. is continuing its strategic growth and expansion with the announcement that Janaya Carter has been promoted to managing shareholder in the firm. Carter has been serving RCO Legal for 13 years, overseeing foreclosure and eviction practices in Washington and Oregon for the firm. In her new role with RCO Legal, Carter will handle new client initiatives. Mid America Hires Financial Compliance Expert Mid America Mortgage, Inc. (Mid America) announced it has hired financial compliance expert Joanna Shelton as the company's next compliance manager. Shelton will oversee compliance for Mid America's sister company Mortgage Machine Service and its flagship loan origination system (LOS) Mortgage Machine. Shelton brings more than 19 years of compliance expertise. MGIC Hires Patrick Sinks as CEO Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (MGIC) welcomed Patrick Sinks as the new CEO, after Curt S. Culver, 62, retired. Sinks has also been appointed to the board of directors. Sinks has served as President and COO since January 2006. He earned his MBA from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from the University of Mary. Best Homes Title Agency Welcomes New Commercial Examiner Farmington Hills, Michigan-based HED agency Best Homes Title Agency has hired Matt Evangelista as a commercial title examiner with the firm. Evangelista, who has a law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, boasts 18 years of commercial and residential title insurance experience. He has worked for several notable HED agents in the Detroit area. NEW STUDY SPECULATES HOUSING MARKET TO BE AT ITS HEALTHIEST LEVEL SINCE 2001 In its first-ever analysis of the U.S. housing market, Nationwide Economics indicated the national market was at its healthiest level in 14 years. Nationwide's Health of Housing Markets (HoHM) Report – Q1 2015 is the first report in a planned quarterly series of reports. Using a metric known as the Leading Index of Healthy Housing Markets (LIHHM), Nationwide said the health of the overall housing market in the United States suggested there is little reason to believe another downturn will occur in housing dur- ing the coming year. e LIHHM is a data-driven view of the near-term performance of housing markets based on current health indicators for the national housing market and 373 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). LIHHM ratings focus on the entire housing market and not just prices or sales, according to Nationwide. e national LIHHM was reported to be 109.8 for Q 4 2014, a modest increase from the previous quarter and its highest level since 2001, the earliest available data. Ac- cording to Nationwide, a value of 100 for the LIHHM suggests a healthy housing market, and the likelihood of a downturn decreases the higher the value climbs above 100. "In the fourth quarter, the employment, mortgage market, and house price growth components of the LIHHM remained positive," Nationwide wrote in the report. "Household formations increased at a faster pace, but a continued tight mortgage lending environment remains an impediment to even stronger national housing activity." Regionally, none of the nation's 40 largest MSAs received a "nega- tive" LIHHM rating. e only two MSAs that received a negative rat- ing were Bismarck, North Dakota, and Atlantic City, New Jersey; and those two were close to being "neutral." Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Philadelphia were the MSAs that received the healthiest LIHHM rat- ings, according to Nationwide.

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