Single-family housing starts dropped 11.2% in January and single-family permits fell 4% as the weather and builder inventories stalled new construction.The U.S. Census Bureau reported that single-family starts dropped from a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.25 million in December to a 1.11 million rate in January. Compared with the total for January 2006, which was the fourth-warmest January on record, starts were off 38.9%. Richard DeKaser, chief economist of National City Corp., said he believes housing starts have hit bottom but that he expects the pipeline of units under construction to continue to decline over the course of this year. The NCC economist said he also expects home sales to decline by 5%-10% this year after last year's 15% decline in total sales. "The bulk of the decline is behind us," Mr. DeKaser said. However, lenders have tightened their underwriting standards on subprime loans, and he projects further tightening as defaults rise. The turmoil in the subprime market will take its toll on the housing market, "but I don't think it is going to drive it into the ground," he said.
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Elevated delinquency levels have not affected expected losses, however, due to home price appreciation, Fitch Ratings said.
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A pair of bills, one with bipartisan support, look to address the issues around heirs' property so these families can have clear title on their homes.
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The agreement, in which the real estate giant admits no wrongdoing, will cover around 70,000 agents.
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Doxo plans to fight the FTC complaint, which focuses broadly on consumer finance, but there are signs of confusion about the company's role in mortgages too.
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Members of the LGBTQ community were most likely to have experienced housing bias, according to a Zillow survey, which also found many people don't recognize how fair lending laws could help.
April 25