Economy

A New York banker who mastered the art of buying low and selling high, broke industry norms and learned from his mistakes in commercial real estate, John Kanas became a model regional bank builder. After stepping down as BankUnited's CEO last year, he wants to do "one more thing" before fully calling it quits.

Conforming loan limits for mortgages bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will increase for the second consecutive year in response to the rapid rise in home prices, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said.

A Kiryas Joel, N.Y., man was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $1.2 million to federal authorities for his role in a mortgage-fraud operation in which prosecutors had charged 15 people in all.

Consumer house-buying power, measuring how much one can purchase based on changes in income and interest rates, fell 2.1% year-over-year, but increased by 1.3% from the month prior, according to First American Financial Corp.

Homes sales for October remained strong in the Greater Cincinnati area, but couldn't quite reach levels attained at the same time last year.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in September by the most in more than three years, indicating resilient demand at a time of persistently scarce inventory, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data.

The former bank CEO is widely expected to continue the recent push to implement a more industry-friendly agenda.

Urban condo living exists in Cleveland, but the supply is small.

Developer confidence in multifamily production weakened in the third quarter to its lowest reading since 2011, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Florida's home prices increased during September, while in Texas there was a minimal decline from August, a sign the major storms that hit both states had little impact on values.

Purchases of new homes unexpectedly advanced in broad fashion last month, reaching the strongest pace in a decade and offering an encouraging signal for residential construction.

Sometimes reaching underserved borrowers takes experimenting with changes to the mortgage finance system. That's why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are working with lenders to test innovative loan products that meet borrowers' evolving needs.

Federal Reserve officials meeting earlier this month saw an interest-rate increase in the near term even as divisions persisted over the policy path forward amid tepid inflation.

Home price appreciation continues to increase at a much higher than normal pace, although the rate of growth has been slowing since the summer.

A yearlong, $25 million lawsuit filed against Alachua County's property appraiser, tax collector, clerk of the court and a number of their employees has been thrown out by a judge.

The housing market has been underperforming its potential since May, and October's performance gap was the largest it's been since November of last year, according to First American Financial Corp.

October home sales bested last year's levels, and sale prices continued to rise across Northeast Ohio as buyers sparred over a relatively meager pool of properties.

Carver Bancorp, which has spent 70 years serving minorities in Harlem and surrounding neighborhoods, is struggling to turn a profit. As black-run banks nationwide struggle to stay afloat, Carver's CEO insists the institution is on the right track.

Built Technologies successfully completed a capital raise, enabling the three-year company to expand its software offerings for both commercial and residential construction lenders.

Faster apartment building was instrumental in pulling the U.S. housing market out of its slump a decade ago. Now, that engine is starting to throttle back.