Real estate listings site launches social networking tool
CribYourSpace allows users to promote property in several ways More »
Freddie Mac sees no crash in housing market (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said on Tuesday that rising interest rates would lead to a slowdown in the U.S housing market but added it did not expect the market to crash. More »
Electronic real estate closings debut in Indiana
Stewart Title teams with mortgage companies to cut paper from transactions More »
Fed's Olson says mortgage data raise questions (Reuters)
Reuters - Federal Reserve Governor Mark Olson said on Tuesday data collected under the U.S. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act raise troubling questions about lending to black and Hispanic borrowers and more research is needed. More »
HUD releases new anti-flipping rules
Homes sold within 90 days of purchase ineligible for funding More »
HUD to review GSEs' investments (Reuters)
Reuters - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to review Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's debt and equity investments to ensure the mortgage finance giants comply with their government charters, HUD's chief said on Tuesday. More »
Admin. starting reviews of Fannie, Freddie (AP)
AP - The Bush administration is starting special reviews of the financial operations of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. More »
Lawmaker says wealth due to investment, not cronyism (Reuters)
Reuters - A West Virginia Democrat facing questions about his real-estate investments released a sheaf of documents on Tuesday to back up his argument that he has grown wealthy through smart investing, not cronyism. More »
CapitalSource Shifts Gears With Move To REIT Status (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - There wasn't much buzz on Wall Street when CapitalSource spent $211 million in January to buy 38 senior housing properties scattered from Texas to Massachusetts. More »
CORRECTED: Lawmaker says wealth from investment, not cronyism (Reuters)
Reuters - A West Virginia Democrat facing questions about his real-estate investments released a sheaf of documents on Tuesday to back up his argument that he has grown wealthy through smart investing, not cronyism. More »
Online communities build buzz for real estate biz
Part 1: Savvy agents warm up to community-based sites More »
Six Ways You Can Make Your House More Affordable
Many homeowners who used adjustable-rate mortgages to buy homes they couldn't afford with traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are feeling the pinch. Some tips on how to cope. More »
Move Over, McMansions: Microhouses Are on the Rise
Architects are packing many of the amenities of a traditional, American-sized home into one-fifth of the space. These small places are luring buyers looking for vacation getaways, art studios or even full-time residences. More »
Buyers in Search of Bargains Turn to Once Undesirable Locales
Coastal properties on the East Coast continue to enjoy high consumer demand, while one northeast Philadelphia neighborhood and certain districts in San Francisco's Bay Area see an influx of cost-conscious residents. A roundup of real-estate news from across the Web. More »
Overnight real estate rates barely budge
30-year fixed rate at 6.17%; 10-year Treasury yield at 4.97% More »
Study: Online mortgage borrowers more likely to use search
But few sites successful at getting real estate loan applications More »
Finance: The pain of mortgage over-extension (Reuters)
Reuters - (Linda Stern is a freelance writer. Any opinions in the column are solely those of Ms. Stern. You can e-mail her at lindastern(at)aol.com.) More »
Congressman asks for Fannie execs perjury probe (Reuters)
Reuters - A top Republican lawmaker said on Wednesday he asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate whether former Fannie Mae executives perjured themselves in testimony before his subcommittee in 2004. More »
Home refinancing surges ahead of Fed rate meet (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. home loan refinancing applications surged last week, industry trade group figures showed on Wednesday, as consumers sought to lock in rates ahead of a widely expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve at the end of June. More »