The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has launched a new program that will allocate close to $4 billion in emergency assistance for state and local governments to be used to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties. More details about the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) will be announced during a national housing summit in [...]

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The Senate approved a revised version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 in a 74 to 25 vote, clearing the way for full consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives. The House voted down an earlier version of the plan on Monday.
The revised plan, which is designed to shore up the nation’s financial [...]

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The most luxurious residence in the country is coincidentally located just a few miles north of the most non-luxurious home. They are both located along the Pacific Coast Highway in California’s central coast area. The famous Hearst Castle, in San Simeon, California, is undoubtedly the most luxurious. It was the home of William Randolph Hearst, [...]

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As predicted, mortgage interest rates dropped substantially immediately after the highly publicized government takeover of the GSEs - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In late September it started rising again. Not surprisingly, the sudden drop in rates was followed by an increase in mortgage applications, particularly refinance mortgage loan applications.
With still very low mortgage rates [...]

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A few decades ago, most home financing was with mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). But later the popularity of these loans dropped dramatically, largely due to restrictions on FHA home mortgages. They just weren’t competitive with offered conventional mortgages.
Today, however, FHA loans are experiencing a strong revival. Certain restrictions and loan limits [...]

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It’s more affordable to buy a home than to rent one in more the half the major metro areas nationwide. Of the 100 most populous areas, 57 have average three-bedroom rental costs higher than the cost of maintaining a 6 percent interest rate mortgage for a typical lower priced three bedroom home, according to a [...]

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There are always exceptional up and down markets in real estate. One particularly bright spot currently is the Aspen area in the Colorado Rockies. Here, the average home price is up by 23 percent over the first six months of last year, according to  Robert, a seasoned Realtor in Aspen.
Two very high priced homes were [...]

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Here’s what a few housing and mortgage leaders are saying about the government’s plan designed to revive our financial system.
Jerry Howard, CEO of the National Association of Home Builders: "The plan must get to the heart of the problem to successfully stabilize mortgage markets and home prices and restore confidence in global financial markets. Ensuring [...]

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These are uncertain times for home buyers and sellers, to say the least. But tough times sometimes bring exceptional opportunities. That applies to today’s buyers. Home prices, sales volume and mortgage interest rates are all exhibiting volatile behavior. In recent months, existing home sales showed a healthy gain in July, but declined 2.2 percent in [...]

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Mortgage loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA loans) are becoming more popular. This is one of the few no-down-payment type mortgages still available. About 162,000 of these loans have been guaranteed so far this year, reflecting an increase of 31 percent over the same period last year.
The loans have been streamlined by [...]

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