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Started by S Goldstein; Last updated Feb 29, 08 6:23 AM CST by D Lim | View history

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Housing Market

Navigating today's real estate market is a tricky task for buyers, sellers and those whittling away at that 30-year mortgage; steer yourself in the right direction with these relevant articles

Stories

Stories 41 - 60 of 191

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June 2008
- Carson Sidekick Faces Home Foreclosure
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Jun 4, 08 12:03 PM CDT
  
  Former Johnny Carson sidekick Ed McMahon, 85 and out of work following a fall, is in negotiations with lenders to save his Beverly Hills home from foreclosure, the Wall Street Journal . He owed $644,000 on a $4.8 million loan as of February, plus $300,000 on a line of credit; the property is on the market at $5.75 million. More »
May 2008
- Bill Could Cripple Minn. Governor in Mac Veepstakes
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 28, 08 4:37 PM CDT
  
  A top Republican vice-presidential possible is in a fix, as his pending decision on state housing legislation could come back to hurt in the general election. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has a foreclosure-deferment bill sitting on his desk; he’s already voiced opposition to it, but vetoing it might make him look “insensitive to homeowners,” the Wall Street Journal observes. More »
- 'Evangelist' Renter: Time to Buy
  
  newser | New York Times | May 28, 08 8:32 AM CDT
  
  As property prices head back down, a self-proclaimed "evangelist" of renting is trading in the lease for a mortgage. David Leonhardt of the New York Times has been advising people for years not to buy a home and get their money tied up in a housing bubble, but he now believes buying is starting to make sense again. More »
- Foreclosure Sales Rebound as Buyers Snap Up Deals
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 27, 08 7:31 AM CDT
  
  April generally was not a great month for home sales, the Wall Street Journal reports—except in the areas hardest hit by the subprime crisis as lenders slash prices on foreclosed homes and buyers snap them up. Subprime-riddled Detroit, for example, has seen home sales rise 48% in the past four months over last year; but prices have dropped 56%. More »
- Squatters, Scammers Move In on Foreclosed Homes
  
  newser | Reuters | May 19, 08 3:30 PM CDT
  
  Add a new twist to the housing crisis: Squatters are increasingly using homes that have been abandoned for months, and con artists are scamming banks in “cash for keys” deals or luring people into “leasing” homes that actually are foreclosures sitting empty, Reuters reports. Authorities can have a hard time proving the squatters aren't renters—and get little help from foreclosed-on owners. More »
- Mortgage Deal Close in Senate
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 15, 08 1:11 PM CDT
  
  A Senate committee is close to agreeing on expansion of a government insurance program for refinanced mortgages, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though ridden with partisan conflict as recently as a week ago, staff for Democrat Chris Dodd and Republican Richard Shelby said today the sides were nearing a compromise, and a vote to move the measure along could come in the next few hours. More »
- Foreclosures Go Upscale
  
  newser | Washington Post | May 15, 08 10:11 AM CDT
  
  Luxury homes—once seemingly immune from the mortgage crisis—are starting to hit foreclosure lists across the nation, the Washington Post reports. And, real-estate agents predict, it’s just the beginning of a trend likely to grow as more buyers who bought beyond their means with adjustable-rate and interest-only mortgages are hit by the economic slowdown. More »
- Home, Retail Sales Keep Sliding
  
  newser | Bloomberg | May 13, 08 11:36 AM CDT
  
  The housing market continued to plunge in the first quarter of 2008, as single-family sales dropped 22% from their year-ago pace, to 4.95 million annually. Bloomberg reports that the median home price is off 7.7% from a year ago, to $196,300, as foreclosed properties drag down values. Meanwhile, US retail sales were off in April, mainly because of a big drop in autos. More »
- Fish Clean Up Mortgage Mess
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 9, 08 3:59 PM CDT
  
  Stagnant pools bursting with mosquitoes have become a byproduct of the housing crisis, turning into breeding grounds for diseases like West Nile virus. But, the Wall Street Journal reports, there is a solution: Gambusia affinis , a natural predator, also known as the mosquito fish, that's hardy enough to police abandoned watering holes from Florida to California. More »
- House OKs Mortgage Rescue Plan, Despite Veto Threat
  
  newser | Reuters | May 8, 08 5:50 PM CDT
  
  The House today shrugged off a veto threat from President Bush and passed a wide-ranging rescue plan for US homeowners, Reuters reports. The centerpiece of the legislation would allow people to trade in risky, fast-rising mortgages for more stable government loans. The $300 billion measure would help an estimated 500,000 homeowners at risk of foreclosure. More »
- Big Fannie Mae Losses Prompt Fears of Failure
  
  newser | New York Times | May 6, 08 8:16 AM CDT
  
  Fannie Mae lost a worse-than-expected $2.2 billion this quarter, forcing it to cut its dividend and seek $6 billion in capital. The news is especially troubling as Fannie and Freddie Mac, the companies Washington relies on to keep the housing market functioning, are under unprecedented pressure, the New York Times reports. Many are now worried that one or both of them, after stepping in to rescue a torrent of troubled mortgages, may soon need bailouts themselves. More »
April 2008
- Federal Mortgage Plan Not Helping the Neediest: Critics
  
  newser | New York Times | Apr 29, 08 4:57 PM CDT
  
  A plan to federally subsidize the refinancing of troubled mortgages has in fact helped relatively few of the most at-risk borrowers, the New York Times reports. Though Bush administration officials said FHA Secure has benefited 150,000, federal statistics show that only 1,729 of those mortgages were delinquent. “They came to us before they got into trouble,” one official said. More »
- Bush Blames Congress for Economic Sloth
  
  newser | New York Times | Apr 29, 08 2:56 PM CDT
  
  President Bush conceded that “it’s a very slow economy” one day ahead of possibly ugly GDP numbers, the New York Times reports, and said Congress is dragging its feet on gas prices, the mortgage crisis, farm subsidies and student loans. The Democratic-controlled legislature should be “sending me sensible and effective bills,” he said, not ones "that simply look like political statements.” More »
- Home Prices Take Record Dive
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Apr 29, 08 11:24 AM CDT
  
  A key measure of home prices fell fell 12.7% in February, the biggest decline in its 7 years of existence, and consumer confidence measured this month hit a 5-year low, Bloomberg reports. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index reflects the crush of foreclosures and resultant tightening of lending standards. “There is no sign of a bottom in the numbers,” said an S&P spokesman. More »
- Mortgage Biz Battles Fed Reforms
  
  newser | New York Times | Apr 28, 08 7:05 AM CDT
  
  As the Federal Reserve moves toward stricter lending rules, mortgage providers are firing back, calling the rules too broad and arguing that they could limit loans to borrowers who don't have credit problems, the New York Times reports. Regulation, bankers say, could raise the price of mortgages by increasing paperwork and the risk of lawsuits. The outcry has pushed the Fed to consider narrowing the number of mortgages the rules would apply to. More »
- First Tax Rebates Go Out Monday
  
  newser | Reuters | Apr 24, 08 2:51 PM CDT
  
  Treasury is putting its rebate money where its mouth is—ahead of schedule, Reuters reports, with the first wave of checks going out Monday. “We're a little bit ahead of schedule, so we will start right on Monday with direct deposits," Henry Paulson tells Reuters. The Treasury secretary is happy to get cash into Americans’ pockets a little quicker, in order to stave off worsening economic conditions. More »
- New-Home Sales Hit Lowest Level Since '91
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 24, 08 10:53 AM CDT
  
  New-home sales fell yet again in March, the Wall Street Journal reports, with single-family sales off 8.5% to an annual rate of 526,000, the lowest level since 1991. Analysts had expected a drop of only 1.9%. The median price, meanwhile, plummeted 13.3%, to $227,600. With an 11-month supply of homes available—the most since 1981—prices will likely continue to fall. More »
- House Panel OKs $15B Plan to Buy Foreclosed Homes
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 24, 08 2:39 AM CDT
  
  Lawmakers have backed a $15 billion aid package for municipalities so they can buy and fix up foreclosed homes, the Wall Street Journal reports. A House panel voted 38-26 for the measure, which would be split evenly between loans and grants. States could use the money to get vacated homes in shape and filled quickly. It's part of a larger relief measure making its way through the House. More »
- March Home Sales, Prices Fall
  
  newser | Bloomberg | Apr 22, 08 10:02 AM CDT
  
  Prices on existing homes fell in March, but buyers stayed away, either unable to get loans, or betting on yet bigger drops, Bloomberg reports. Sales dropped 2%, to an annual rate of 4.93 million, as the median price fell to $200,700 from $217,400 last year. The number of available homes meanwhile swelled by 40,000, exacerbating supply problems. More »
- Maybe You Shouldn't Own a Home
  
  newser | New Republic | Apr 20, 08 3:08 PM CDT
  
  Should all Americans own their dream home? Not really, writes Joshua Riner in the New Republic —only those who can afford one. But Washington made homebuying easy, sparked the subprime crisis, and is now making things worse by buying up risky mortgages. Officials "need to replace the dream of homeownership with policies that actually increase wealth—not just the illusion of it," writes Riner. More »

Stories 41 - 60 of 191

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A house for sale is seen in Somerville, Mass., Tuesday, April 24, 2007. Sales of existing homes plunged in March by the largest amount in nearly two decades, reflecting bad weather and increasing problems... (Associated Press)

Real estate sale signs sit in front of a home in Montpelier, Vt., Tuesday, July 24, 2007. Sales of existing homes fell for a fourth straight month in June and even a small increase in home prices was... (Associated Press)

Real estate sings mounted on homes are shown in Philadelphia, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007. First-time homebuyers and people with poor credit would have greater access to federally insured mortgages under... (Associated Press)

Jose Flores, who calls himself a "Mexican hillbilly," sits in his real estate office in Dodge City, Kan., April 3, 2007. When he arrived in 1987, the only Mexican-owned business in town was a secondhand... (Associated Press)

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