Mortgage rates edge up slightly

Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly this week, inching above 5 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

Freddie Mac - Mortgage - Loan - Macintosh - Apple
NYT: No help in sight, more homeowners walk away

By June, about 5.1 million people are projected own a home whose value is below 75 percent of what is owed, prompting many to walk away from their mortgages.

Mortgage - New York Times - Foreclosure - United States - Loan
Modest increase seen in home sales activity

The number of people preparing to buy a home rose slightly in December, a sign that home sales could be stabilizing heading into the spring home buying season.

Shrubs - Plants - Home - Gardening - Roses
Duplicity in mother-of-all mortgage walkaways

Tishman Speyer Properties walks away from 11,232 Manhattan apartments because it can't pay its mortgage. That's good business.

Tishman Speyer Properties - Business - United States - Financial Services - Mortgages
Some see hints of bottom in housing

Although evidence is mixed and tentative, some analysts see evidence that hard-hit housing markets in California, Arizona and elsewhere are showing signs of healing.

California - Arizona - United States - Business and Economy - Housing
Sales of new homes sink 7.6 percent
New home sales unexpectedly fell 7.6 percent last month, capping the industry's weakest year on record.


Business - Business and Economy - Construction and Maintenance - United States - Residential Housing
Flaws plague foreclosure relief program

Ten months into the government?s third program to stop a record wave of foreclosures, the latest effort is falling far short of its goal. By John W. Schoen

Foreclosure - Government - Health - Conditions and Diseases - United States
Mortgage ?relief? leads to foreclosure notice
Red Tape: For nine months, Deb Franklin said, she did exactly what JP Morgan Chase and President Barack Obama told her to do. She made her mortgage payments on time. Then, on the day after Christmas, a "bomb dropped" on her life.


Barack Obama - JPMorgan Chase - President of the United States - United States - Foreclosure
Home prices rise unexpectedly in November

A closely watched index shows that home prices rose nationally for the sixth straight month in November, with 14 of 20 metro areas tracked showing improvements.

Real estate pricing - Home - Shrubs - Plants - Gardening
It?s likely closing time for these chains in 2010

Tight-fisted consumers, plunging sales and shuttered stores. That was pretty much the retail story during the bulk of 2008 and 2009.

Retail - Business - Retail Trade - Business and Economy - Retailers
Home sales tumble surprise 16.7 percent

Sales of previously occupied homes took their largest drop in more than 40 years last month yet managed to end 2009 with the first annual gain in four years.

United States - Tax credit - Tax - Business - Accounting
Huge NYC real estate deal goes sour

The financially troubled owners of two massive apartment complexes that sold for a record $5.4 billion a few years ago said Monday they're turning them over to their creditors.

Real estate - New York City - United States - Business and Economy - Business
Rise in permits could herald building ramp-up

Applications for future construction projects unexpectedly climbed last month, foreshadowing what could be a better spring for home building after a rough winter, government data showed on Wednesday.

Housing starts - United States - Business - Real estate - Business and Economy
FHA raises fees, tightens loan standards
The Federal Housing Administration is raising fees and tightening lending standards to shore up its strapped finances and avoid a taxpayer bailout.


Federal Housing Administration - Business - United States - Mortgage - Housing
Entrepreneurs turn housing bust into boom

While the industry floundered, these businesses positioned themselves for growth.

Business - Real estate - Residential - Public housing - National Association of Home Builders
Builder sentiment index dips in January
The National Association of Home Builders says its housing market index fell this month to the lowest level since last summer.


National Association of Home Builders - Real estate economics - Business - Real estate - Residential
Mortgage relief reaches 7 percent of borrowers
The Obama administration's mortgage relief plan provided help to 7 percent of borrowers who signed up last year.


Mortgage - Presidency of Barack Obama - Business - United States - Financial Services