Down payments

The mortgage industry is stepping up its fight against a bill that would raise the Department of Veterans Affairs' mortgage fees to cover medical costs for Vietnam vets.

Canada's housing agency will spend up to C$1.25 billion ($943 million) over three years to take equity positions in homes bought by first-time buyers, part of a plan by Justin Trudeau's government to make housing more affordable for the youngest voters.

The Federal Housing Administration is moving forward with a long-delayed plan to reduce the term of the home warranty required for high loan-to-value mortgages on new houses.

Millennials make up the largest cohort of homebuyers, but a quarter of them don't even know their credit score, which could be a call for mortgage lenders to help them prepare to enter the housing market.

A city program that helps first-time homebuyers purchase affordable homes has received an additional $3.2 million in grant funding.

Rises in the amount of low down payment loans and private mortgage insurance due to tight affordability led to the most first-time homebuyers since 2006, according to Genworth Mortgage Insurance.

Slower home price growth and cooled mortgage rates could bring buyers out in droves in 2019, according to NerdWallet.

Two Alabama cities lead the nation in several categories according to a study charting the best cities in which to buy a home based on the buyer's occupation.

The number of homeowners participating in an expanding down payment assistance program offered by Wells Fargo and NeighborWorks could top 20,000 this year.

Across rural America, the government shutdown has eliminated one of the best options for low-to-middle income homebuyers, a zero down payment mortgage from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.