Household debt has surpassed recession levels, according to the New York Federal Reserve. Mortgage debt proved to be the highest increasing debt factor, going up went up by $147 billion quarterly and $258 billion annually. Total mortgage debt as of Q1 2017 was $8.63 trillion.

The United states had alleged that Financial Freedom had not properly disclosed on the insurance claims forms it filed with the FHA that the mortgagee was not eligible for such interest payments because it had failed to meet various deadlines relating to appraisal of the property, submission of claims to HUD, and pursuit of foreclosure proceedings. Despite this, had sought to obtain insurance payments from insurance.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development along with the U.S. Census Bureau released their April New Residential Construction Activity Report on Tuesday. Year-over-year, Permits, Starts and Completions increased 5.7 percent, barely increased 0.7 percent and increased 15.1 percent respectively. However, number shave fallen month-over-month.

Both California and Florida housing markets are seeing steady activity despite fluctuations in market conditions, according to two reports released on Monday by each state’s Realtors associations. Because of seasonal price declines and higher household income, California’s housing affordability increased. Meanwhile, Florida Realtors reported higher median sales prices for single-family existing homes.

On Monday, the City of Philadelphia sued Wells Fargo & Co for predatory lending and violations of the Fair Housing Act. This suit comes just two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities may sue lenders for alleged discrimination, according to Reuters. Two weeks before this case, the Supreme Court had ruled that Miami could sue Bank of America for predatory lending practices that allegedly increased segregation.

Debt collectors that knowingly pursue stale debt in bankruptcy proceedings do not run the risk of facing potential consumer protection lawsuits, accoridng to a Supreme Court ruling. The ruling came after the high court voted 5-3 to overturn an Eleventh Circuit decision which had found Midland Funding LLC, a purchaser of unpaid debt, potentially liable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

This week, the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo will release their latest Housing Market Index (HMI) for May, a measure of market conditions based on three factors, with a range of zero to 100. While the March HMI was unusually high, reaching 71, April stayed steady at 65. All three individual components (present single family sales, next six-month single family sales, and prospective buyer traffic) reported losses month over month, but were still strong.

The second-annual Five Star Diversity Symposium, a day-long event focused on advancing the conversation on diversity within the mortgage industry, featured keynote addresses from diversity leaders as well as roundtable discussions and panels. The Diversity Symposium includes representatives by several key companies and government agencies within the mortgage industry.

Situs recently announced that it has completed its acquisition of The Collingwood Group, a Washington, D.C.-based advisory firm.

Representatives from the leading mortgage servicers and default servicing law firms in the U.S. met to discuss issues currently impacting business. Attendees listed to several panels and speakers to learn more about changes and issues the industry faces.