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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: housing

housing stories: 66 news summaries

21 - 40 of 66 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 Home Sales, Prices Plunge 

Everyone was really surprised

Dec 23, 08 10:52 AM CST
(Newser) - The housing market had another staggering setback in November, with sales of new and existing homes tumbling while prices took their biggest hit on record, the Wall Street Journal reports. Existing-home sales fell a worse-than-expected 8.6%, while the national median price fell 13.2% to $181,300, the... More »

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housing market • home sales • housing • National Association of Realtors • home prices • existing home sales • new home sales • financial crisis

 Oprah House-Hunting  
 in DC  

Oprah Winfrey starts housing search in DC.

Dec 19, 08 12:19 PM CST
(Newser) - Call it Chicago on the Potomac—Oprah Winfrey and the Obamas may soon be neighbors again. The multimedia titan, an early and enthusiastic supporter of the president-elect’s campaign, is house-hunting in Washington, the New York Post reports. The hot rumor is that she's leaning toward a $50 million Georgetown... More »

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Barack Obama • Washington DC • Oprah Winfrey • housing • Barack Obama supporters

OPINION

Forget That Stimulus Bill:
5 Things Obama Should Fix

Obama shouldn't rely on a stimulus package for a cure-all

Dec 10, 08 5:53 PM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama and his team are devoting much effort to a proposed stimulus package for 2009, but that is simply a superficial fix, writes James K. Galbraith in Mother Jones. “The effect ends when the stimulus does, when the sugar shock wears off,” says Galbraith, who suggests five... More »

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Barack Obama • foreclosure • housing • Social Security • economic stimulus package • payroll taxes • financial crisis • President Obama

 Existing-Home Prices 
 Take Record Dive 

11.3% decline is biggest on record; sales down again in Oct. after Sept. uptick

Nov 24, 08 10:59 AM CST
(Newser) - After a brief, unexpected rise in September, sales of existing homes plunged again in October, with the median price taking its biggest drop on record, the Wall Street Journal reports. Home resales fell 3.1% to a 4.98 million annual rate, from September’s revised 5.14 million... More »

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housing market • housing • home prices • existing home sales

 Obama: 
 We've Got 
 to Stop 
 Foreclosures 

President-elect also backs aid for auto industry, but not a 'blank check'

Nov 16, 08 7:07 AM CST
(Newser) - Saving people's homes from bank foreclosures will be a priority of his economic crisis plan, President-elect Obama said in an interview airing tonight on 60 Minutes. "We've got to set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes. That is going... More »

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Barack Obama • foreclosure • mortgage • housing • subprime crisis • financial crisis • President Obama

Fannie, Freddie to Offer Mass Loan Modifications

Housing giants aim to reduce foreclosures

Nov 11, 08 10:37 AM CST
(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will roll out a plan today to modify hundreds of thousands of loans in an effort to prevent foreclosures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The mortgage giants, under federal conservatorship, aim to reduce mortgage payments to no more than 38% of household income. Private banks... More »

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foreclosure • mortgage • housing • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • loan • subprime crisis • financial crisis

Home Sales Up 5.5%,
Biggest Gain in 5 Years

Inventories still at historic highs

Oct 24, 08 11:10 AM CDT
(AP) - Sales of existing US homes rose by the largest amount in more than five years in last month, a real estate trade group said today. The data offer a glimmer of hope that the housing slump could be starting to bottom out. The National Association of Realtors said sales of... More »

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housing market • home sales • housing • National Association of Realtors • home prices • housing bubble • existing home sales

Clinton Housing Chief Paved the Way for Risky Loans

How American Dream Became Economic Nightmare

Oct 19, 08 11:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - The top housing chief of the Clinton administration helped launch a major financing wave that transformed the American dream of homeownership into reality for thousands of people—whether they could afford it or not, reports the New York Times. From his post, Henry Cisneros loosened mortgage restrictions for first-time buyers,... More »

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White House • Bill Clinton • foreclosure • mortgage • housing • Department of Housing and Urban Development • financial crisis • financial meltdown • Henry Cisneros

McCain Talks Economy as Women Break for Obama

Housing seen as way to win over white moms

Oct 9, 08 12:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - John McCain is shifting focus to the economy in a bid to win over white women who are rapidly flocking to Barack Obama. Any bump McCain saw with female voters after selecting running mate Sarah Palin has utterly evaporated, the Boston Globe reports. Polls show Obama leading by 17%... More »

MORE ABOUT:
John McCain • housing • female voters • McCain 2008 • Election 2008 • economy

Paulson Tacks Toward Middle on Fannie, Freddie Rescue

Conservatorship would toe line between opposing views

Sep 7, 08 9:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - As concerns mount for troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two camps have emerged: one, led by free-market analysts, is pushing a temporary government takeover of the companies; the other, led by congressional Democrats, would rather see billions of tax dollars rescue the firms. Treasury secretary Henry Paulson... More »

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Henry Paulson • housing • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • Treasury Department • Barney Frank • mortgage lender • conservatorship • financial crisis

Economy

 Home Sales Climb, but
Prices Keep Falling

Expanding inventories still damaging market

Aug 25, 08 10:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Existing home sales were better than expected in July, rising 3.1% to an annual rate of 5 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. But inventories continued their steady expansion anyway, driving prices further downward. The median home price for July was $212,400, down 7.1% from July... More »

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housing market • housing • existing home sales • economy

Freddie CEO Dismissed Bad Omens for Years

Execs charge Syron was warned
of disaster

Aug 5, 08 4:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - The CEO of Freddie Mac disregarded several warnings from inside the company that the mortgage giant faced imminent disaster. More than two dozen current and former high-ranking employees told the New York Times that Richard Syron dismissed repeated recommendations from as early as 2004 to limit its exposure to bad... More »

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subprime mortgages • housing • Freddie Mac • mortgage loans • mortgage debt • Richard Syron • loan • financial crisis

 Housing Crash Spawns
 Ghost Subdivisions

Residents live solitary lives in half-built developments

Aug 2, 08 6:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - The housing bust has left ghost towns scattered across the nation, the Wall Street Journal reports. In a tour of half-built or largely empty developments, the paper finds residents who moved in early, only to find themselves leading lonely lives surrounded by eerily deserted homes and weed-strewn lots. One woman... More »

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housing market • housing • housing industry • housing bubble • vacant homes

 Study: Homeless Numbers Drop

First study to count homeless over a full year finds numbers down 15% in '07

Jul 30, 08 7:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The number of chronically homeless Americans fell by 15% last year, a study has found. The survey is the first to track homelessness over a full year, the Los Angeles Times reports. Homeless advocates argue that the promising numbers may in part be due to different counting methods—and that... More »

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housing • homeless • poverty • USA • housing crisis • Department of Housing and Urban Development

 Raging Rangel
 Denies Rent Deal 

Lawmaker defends taking up 4 rent-controlled units in city short of housing

Jul 12, 08 5:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - A testy Charles Rangel yesterday brushed off accusations that he had enjoyed special treatment in occupying four rent-controlled apartments, reports the New York Times. The veteran Democratic congressman denied he had a "sweetheart" deal with his landlord and slammed the Times article that started the controversy. The 78-year-old chairman... More »

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New York City • congressman • housing • rent • Charles Rangel • Harlem • political scandal

Rangel Enjoys Sweet Deal
on 4 Harlem Apartments

Dem faces questions over big savings on rent

Jul 11, 08 2:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - A powerful Democratic lawmaker is getting a sweet deal on four Harlem apartments, the New York Times reports. Charles Rangel has four rent-stabilized apartments, whose rents are controlled by city law. Three of the apartments are combined into one luxury unit, and the fourth is used as an office—despite... More »

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New York City • congressman • housing • rent • Charles Rangel • Harlem • political scandal

New Israeli Settlements Have 'Negative Effect': Rice

She warns against building 1,300 new units in Jerusalem

Jun 15, 08 3:34 PM CDT
(Newser) - Condoleezza Rice said today that Israeli settlement building is having a “negative effect” on Mideast peace talks, the AP reports. “It’s important to have an atmosphere of confidence and trust,” she said at a news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. She warned against Israel’s... More »

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Israel • Mahmoud Abbas • Condoleezza Rice • housing • Israel and Palestinians • Palestinians • peace

 Foreclosures Surge 48% in May 

It's the second straight monthly record

Jun 13, 08 9:35 AM CDT
(AP) - The number of US homeowners swept up in the housing crisis rose further last month, with foreclosure filings up 48% over a year earlier. Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 7%  from April and the second straight monthly record. That's one in every... More »

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real estate • foreclosure • housing • subprime crisis

 Philly Best for Young Grads 

City of Brotherly Love has many of New York's charms—but at a big discount

May 1, 08 8:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Cheesesteaks aren’t the only things luring young people to the City of Brotherly Love, MSNBC reports. A survey by Apartments.com and Careerbuilder that factors in the cost of apartments, job opportunities, and the number of 20-somethings, puts Philadelphia—$962 for a one-bedroom compared with $1,520 in NYC—... More »

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Chicago • Atlanta • Boston • New York • Detroit • Dallas • Los Angeles • Houston • housing • Phoenix • Philadelphia • Generation Y • college graduates

Cuba Loosens Limits on Home Ownership, Salaries

State workers can
now own houses; salary cap is gone

Apr 12, 08 7:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Raul Castro continues to lighten up on some of Cuba's least popular restrictions, ending salary caps and allowing retiring state workers to take title to the homes they live in. Government employees, including members of the military, sugar and construction workers, doctors, and teachers, will now be able keep their... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Cuba • wages • housing • salary • Raul Castro • consumer electronics

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