Lew Sichelman

Shopping center growth in the U.S. slowed to a crawl last year, according to new figures compiled for the International Council of Shopping Centers.

A tale of two markets is emerging in Las Vegas, where houses priced under $600,000 sell much faster than those over that benchmark.

WASHINGTON—The pending change in federal loan limits will have a much larger impact on mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration than on those purchased or securitized by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The state of the nation's housing? In a word, "depressing," according to the latest State of the Nation's Housing report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University.

The South shall rise again, according to the latest report from Housing Intelligence, which says three Southern metropolitan areas sat atop the housing market in the first quarter.

A group of strange bedfellows called on mortgage industry regulators to step back from a proposed rule that they say would stifle lending to all but the most well-heeled home buyers.

Two politically potent housing organizations have called on the Federal Housing Administration to relax its rule regarding condominiums.

Housing starts in California rose 2% in April. It wasn't big, but builders in Golden State will take it.

The coming change in the conforming loan limit will have a much larger impact on loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration than on those purchased or securitized by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

While investors believe they will be able to outbid first-time buyers in the "rush" to snap up houses at today's bargain-basement prices, a large majority apparently plan to use a combination of cash and credit to purchase properties as they build their inventories.

A year after the federal home buyer tax credit gave housing a big shot in the arm, the end of this benefit continues to cast a shadow over the Houston market.

With their legislative sessions winding down for the year, 60% of all states have now acted to curb private transfer fees.

WASHINGTON—If the audience’s response during a special session on mortgage credit at the National Association of Realtors’ Midyear Legislative Meetings is any indication, appraisals are still a big issue for frontline realty agents.

A new high-rise has begun pre-sales on the Atlantic Ocean between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami Beach, a possible sign that the Southeast Florida market is starting the recovery process.

Every week it seems another state outlaws private transfer fees. The latest is Indiana, where governor and possible Republican presidential candidate Mitch Daniels has signed legislation to ban the charges.

The connection between jobs and home sales has been well documented. But how about the correlation between employment and house prices?

Once mortgage fraudsters find a chink in a lender's armor, they not only zero in on it, but they also pass it around to their fellow thieves, speakers at a conference in Las Vegas said.

John Dickinson may have been more eloquent when he wrote the “Liberty Song” in 1768. But David Stevens, the new president and chief executive of the Mortgage Bankers Association, emphasized the same point at the group's annual Secondary Market Conference in New York.

As the debate begins to unfold concerning the future of housing finance, panelists at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Secondary Market Conference were unanimous in their endorsement of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage.

Judging from the audience's response at a special session on mortgage credit during the National Association of Realtors' Midyear Legislative Meetings in Washington, appraisals are still a big issue for front-line realty agents.