IAS360 House Price Index Jumps for Second Straight Quarter

DENVER, CO--(Marketwire - Nov 8, 2011) - Integrated Asset Services®, LLC (IAS®) (www.iaservices.com), a leader in default management and residential collateral valuations, today released the latest IAS360® House Price Index (HPI). Based upon the most granular data available in the industry, the index gained 4.0% across the third quarter of 2011.

The jump in the industry's leading benchmark for housing prices follows a 2% gain in the second quarter.

According to IAS data, all four of the nation's census regions registered gains for the three-month period. The South, following a solid 3.1% jump in the second quarter, added another 4.2% for the third, with the Midwest and Northeast regions gaining 4.4% and 3.8% respectively. The West, meanwhile, far and away the hardest-hit of the four areas, managed a modest 0.3% rise.

With the second straight positive quarter, U.S. house prices as measured by the IAS360 HPI are now up 0.4% for 2011 and off 0.6% for the last 12 months. The big benchmark is still down 22.7% from its high-water mark set first-quarter 2007.

"I did a double-take when I saw the numbers," says Paul Sveen, chief executive officer of Integrated Asset Services, provider of the IAS360. "The markets continue to act as though we've seen a bottom and buyers should be encouraged to go out and buy. Based on market volume and demographics of homebuyers during the 3^rd quarter, there is a clear disconnect between the pricing indexes and real market strength. A large volume of distressed property still overhangs the market and it continues to hold most markets hostage."

While the number of distressed sales, which have been estimated to account for one-third of home sales in 2010, has been expected to rise, foreclosures were reportedly down seven percent from June to July, and down 39 percent from last July. So-called robo-signer litigation appears to be a major factor discouraging eviction proceedings.

According to Sveen, the resulting false reading on the housing market is really no reading at all.

"The action of the IAS360 over the last two quarters seems to be a calm before the storm," says Mr. Sveen. "The reality is, lenders, for any number of reasons, are increasingly unable to pursue foreclosure. That means fewer foreclosure properties are coming to market and prices are not truly reflecting the residential housing market. The absence of distressed sales, in other words, is artificially keeping prices from falling."

The price change across the broad U.S. residential market is the end result of thousands of local transactions, and there are a limited number of tools that offer granularity of data at the neighborhood level. The IAS360 HPI, with its "next-generation" trending methodology, is able to identify market trends earlier than any other index. IAS data includes non-conforming, bank-owned, and conventional sales transactions segmented by property type in addition to those insured by the FHA and VA. The IAS360 HPI also considers REO transactions along with arms-length transactions.

Integrated Asset Services offers full service, end-to-end mortgage service solutions including valuation and data analytics. The company's i-Series® collateral valuation platform delivers a comprehensive combination of collateral valuation services that individually offer distinct and critical data, and when combined, a complete view of market volatility, local expert opinions and subject value. Its data analytics provide vital data on the U.S. residential housing market.

Editor's note: IAS360 HPI data, charts, and interviews are available upon request. Data are available at levels from national to MSA to neighborhood for a fee.

About Integrated Asset Services, LLC

IAS (www.iaservices.com) is a privately held Colorado-based corporation specializing in default mortgage services including valuation, reconciliation, and full-cycle REO disposition. The Company's advanced valuation and volatility technology combined with its expert professional services help its clients reduce exposure while expediting the entire asset management process. Founded by REO industry experts, IAS provides services that go beyond industry expectations, from the level of integrity of its employees to the measurably better service it routinely provides.

This press release contains various forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding future results of operations and market opportunities that are based on IntelliReal and IAS' current expectations, assumptions, estimates, and projections about the company and its industry. Investors are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements as a result of the success of IAS' branding and consumer awareness campaign and other marketing efforts, competition from existing and potential competitors, and IAS's ability to continue to develop and integrate new products, services, and technologies. Due to the timeliness of the data, the IAS360 House Price Index is subject to revisions on a monthly basis.