Industry Briefs Jan. 4, 2022: Firstsource Solutions Acquires American Recovery Services Inc.
Firstsource Solutions Acquires American Recovery Services Inc.
Firstsource Solutions Ltd., Mumbai, India, a global provider of business process management services, entered into an agreement to acquire American Recovery Services Inc., a nationwide legal collections network headquartered in southern California.
The acquisition enhances Firstsource’s presence in consumer debt management services by adding legal stage collections capabilities. ASRI has provided legal collection services for more than three decades through its nationwide partner network and in-house experts. Firstsource provides responsible collection services in the early and late-stage receivables management business. By adding ASRI’s domain expertise to its portfolio of services, Firstsource will now be able to help clients navigate the more complex legal collections process.
Redfin: Home Prices at Another Record High
Redfin, Seattle, said the median home sale price rose 14.6% year over year to a record-high $361,171 during the four-week period ending December 26. This comes as the number of homes for sale fell to a record low.
New listings and pending sales both dropped to their lowest levels since January, and touring activity fell compared to the same period in 2019 and 2020.
“The holiday effect of homebuyers and sellers diverting their time and attention toward travel and celebrations was even more extreme than during the pre-pandemic Christmas week of 2019,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr. “We see this slowdown as a temporary consequence of the holidays, and not as an indication that homebuyer demand is backing off. Those who did purchase homes over the holidays paid high prices due to the ongoing supply shortage.”
The report also noted the median asking price of newly listed homes increased by 12.9% year over year to $345,348, up 28.7% from 2019. Meanwhile, new listings of homes for sale fell by 6.4% from a year earlier but rose by 15.6% from 2019. The share of homes that went under contract that had an accepted offer within the first two weeks on the market was 40.3%, above the 35% rate of a year earlier and the 24.5% rate in 2019.
FHA Extends Review/Feedback Period for Draft Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Sections of Single-Family Housing Policy Handbook
The Federal Housing Administration extended the deadline for review and feedback on the draft Home Equity Conversion Mortgage sections of its Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 through Jan. 31.
The draft HECM sections of Handbook 4000.1 posted for feedback on the Single-Family Housing Drafting Table and was announced in FHA INFO 21-81 on Sept. 29.
