Citi to Pay $7 Billion in Justice Department Mortgage Settlement Citigroup has agreed to pay $7 billion as part of a landmark Justice Department settlement for its role in the sale of risky, mortgage- based securities in the run-up to the financial crisis. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the agreement includes $4 billion which he said was a "record" civil penalty of its kind and "appropriate given the strength of the evidence of the wrongdoing committed by Citi." The company will pay $500 million to state attorneys general and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). The remaining $2.5 billion will go to help consumers struggling with mortgages and other problems from the 2007-2009 financial crisis. Last year, JPMorgan Chase settled a similar dispute with Justice, paying out $13 billion in a settlement. Of that settlement, $2 billion was a civil penalty.

June 2014 MLS Sales Statistics In case you missed it, HAR released June 2014 MLS statistics the other day, and here are some highlights of the report: Houston home sales staged a rebound after the first decline in three years hit the market in May. Year-over-year sales rose 4.5 percent, helped by a 6.7 percent increase in new listings. Single-family home sales totaled 7,553 units homes versus 7,227 in June 2013. Inventory levels continue to grow incrementally – up to a 2.9-months supply from 2.8 months in May, but down when compared to last June’s 3.3-months supply. It also compares to 5.6 months of inventory nationally. Prices reached record highs: the single-family home median price was $214,000 while the average price was $283,697. Total dollar volume was $2.4 billion, up from $2.2 billion one year earlier. For more detailed information, please visit the HAR Online Newsroom for this and all other news releases.

Weekly HAR Market Stat Pending sales are back and ready to rumble along with their trusty companion, inventory. After a slower start to the year, the numbers are rallying for a comeback. Job growth remains strong in Houston with more than 93,000 jobs filled in the past year, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. And nationally, the U.S. Department of Labor says jobless applications continue their downward trend. This could help families pad down payment funds. In the Houston region, for the week ending July 6: • New Listings decreased 1.1% to 2,415 • Pending Sales increased 23.8% to 1,927 • Closed Sales increased 44.7% to 1,841

HAR Management Central Hosts Annual Legal Update Wednesday, July 23, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Westin Memorial City. Speakers are TREC Commissioner Avis Wukasch and HAR Legal Counsel Grant Harpold. The program is free, but you must RSVP by Tuesday, July 15. Please RSVP to Karen Driscoll at Karen@har.com.