Lew Sichelman

The jury is still out on whether new sports stadiums are economic engines for their communities. But when it comes to housing alone, new stadiums are a boon for local home sales, but don't always contribute to home price appreciation.

The next administration in the White House must act swiftly to move reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac off dead center, and Ginnie Mae President Ted Tozer suggested that the model for a new secondary market is already in place.

When the limits on two of Bill Johnson's credit cards were lowered from $20,000 to $6,000, his outstanding balances jumped from a perfectly acceptable 20% to a dangerously high 66%.

Teardowns — in which builders or private individuals purchase an aging, outmoded house, then demolish it and replace it with a modern home that will suit today's homeowners — are currently on a tear.

Technology developed by SmartZip analyzes 2,000 variables about a housing market and its homeowners to help real estate agents and lenders identify consumers most likely to sell their house or need a new mortgage.

Intensive year-long program features program managers as coaches, business segment rotations and even group hugs.

In something of a cruel irony, homebuilders are finding constraints on construction financing easing, but little in the way of quality lots on which to put up their houses.

A Florida investment advisor says he has devised a path to homeownership for high-earning young professionals saddled with student loans: refinance them into 100% loan-to-value mortgages, placed in his firm's portfolio.

Home equity lenders are putting more loans on the books, thanks to increasing property values. But utilization rates are falling, not increasing, and older loans are paying off at a faster clip than lenders can replace them.

Funding needed to construct houses is fairly plentiful, but homebuilders are still having trouble lining up financing to purchase and develop land. As a result, buildable lots are in short supply — and far more expensive.

The new mortgage settlement requirements have failed to disrupt the market as expected, at least as far as real estate agents are concerned, thanks in large part to diligent preparation.

When the late-night television comedians joke about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two government-sponsored housing finance agencies that almost went belly-up during the housing crisis — you know they have reached the public consciousness.

Credit unions are no longer the tiny cooperatives they were a generation ago.

Homebuyers may be missing out on a wide range of programs that can help them afford their purchases — programs their agents either don't know about or don't want to bother with.

Consumer complaints about financial products and services such as home loans are more than just statistics. They indicate the real and difficult challenges people face as they try to navigate the financial seas.

Exposure at FHA would be far higher than at Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, a new study finds.

Potential owners a little short on the downpayment may be able to sell a piece of the upside potential in their property.

Requiring only independent mortgage bankers to meet certain education standards is “patently unfair” for both independent mortgage bankers and consumers, according to Mortgage Bankers Association president David Stevens.

These firms believe they will continue to grow their businesses.

He could be running the Federal Housing Finance Agency as early as the next day.