Lew Sichelman

Only a "small fraction" of the nation's 3,000-plus counties will be impacted when the formula that determines the conforming loan limit changes in October, according to an analysis by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

LAS VEGAS—“Too many” vendors have their hands in the real estate cookie jar, a long-time title industry executive claimed here last week.

At $430,000, a house on lovely Star Island in Miami Beach may be a steal in today's downtrodden real estate market. But the joint's not for sale. It's for rent, at $430K a month. An indication, perhaps, that all is not lost in one of the country's hardest hit housing markets.

Arkansas has become the 22nd state to restrict private transfer fees which require a percentage of a home's sales price be paid to a private third-party each time the property is sold — often for up to 99 years.

The Pulte Group, the giant Bloomfield, Mich.-based home building firm, is terminating its $250 million revolving credit facility, effective March 30. The company will realize a charge of approximately $1.3 million associated with the change, which will be recorded in its first quarter financial results.

February brought no relief to the beleaguered home building business in California, where builders pulled fewer permits to start new houses than they did in January.

Although consumers still have an interest in—and considering the increased difficulty of obtaining financing, a need for—one-stop shopping for their settlement needs, real estate firms offering mortgages, title insurance and other ancillary services are still looking for the magic formula that will increase their capture rates.

Lenders can and should take any number of steps to prevent class action law suits. But that still may not keep them from being sued, a team of regulatory attorneys warned at the Real Estate Service Providers Council's annual meeting in Las Vegas.

When it comes to short sales, it seems that lenders come up short, at least in California.

A title industry executive claimed at the Real Estate Providers Council's annual meeting in Las Vegas that "too many" vendors have their hands in the residential real estate cookie jar.

In what could be called the housing finance industry's version of "Scared Straight," a veteran regulatory attorney read the riot act to a group of industry executives in Las Vegas, warning them that the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be expected to come down hard on mortgage firms that don't toe the line.

PARK CITY, UT—Among the numerous and often futile efforts to keep troubled borrowers in their homes, a former IndyMac Bank executive believes real estate agents represent a largely untapped resource.Not agents who list and sell foreclosed properties, said Ray Mathoda, who now bills herself as a housing industry social entrepreneur.

Two influential California lawmakers who pushed legislation last year to require lenders to provide borrowers with a decision on their loan modification applications before starting the foreclosure process have made good on their promise to not give up.

California's home builders are hoping for a better year this year than last. But January didn't start off with much of a bang.

Who says affordable housing properties have to be bland? Not members of the National Housing and Rehabilitation Association, some of whom are developing what they describe as the next generation of low-income housing.

Mortgage delinquencies have probably peaked, but not foreclosures, two economists said at the Midwinter Housing Conference in Park City, Utah, earlier this month.

Stability is the word from Standard & Poor's when it comes to unenhanced and unsubsidized affordable multifamily housing.

Some 3 million houses – two to three years worth of production – weren't built as a result of the housing recession, according to the National Association of Home Builders' chief prognosticator.

January's frigid weather didn't stop Houston's home buyers, who heated up the market with the first year-over-year increase in sales since June.

The National Association of Mortgage Brokers reached a turning point at its recent NAMB/West conference in Las Vegas.Just prior to the conference, Bill Howe, who had been serving as the group’s president, resigned due to ongoing health issues. Stepping up from president-elect is Michael D’Alonzo.