Economy

Sales of previously owned homes fell short of a 5 million annual rate in February for a second month, showing an industry struggling to gain traction amid rising prices and a lack of inventory.

A new loan program will allow borrowers to put down even less than the 3% down payment mortgage programs to be offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. This move and others like it, while laudable, will no doubt ensure increasing default rates.

Many housing markets have seen more homes become trapped underwater during the fourth quarter although the nationwide negative equity rate didn't change, according to analytic firm Zillow.

Ocwen Financial has delayed filing its 2014 results and announced the sale of more servicing rights. The embattled Atlanta servicer was initially expected to report fourth-quarter and full-year results on Monday.

Lennar Corp., the second largest U.S. homebuilder, is raising its bet on rental housing as the pace of sales continues to drag.

As the temperature have crept up, mortgage rates have gone down, making for a positive start to the spring home-buying season, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The percentage of mortgage loans refinancing as part of the overall origination market continued to grow in February following January's blockbuster month, according to data released Wednesday by Ellie Mae.

If successful, Provident Bank in Massachusetts and Cincinnati Federal in Ohio would become the first new mutual holding companies since 2011, giving some hope that the structure could make a comeback.

Lennar Corp., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat estimates as the year's busiest buying period gets under way.

Rather than just focusing on the deals that are in front of you, take time each day to work on business you want in six to 12 months.

Home prices fell in January while completed foreclosures grew month-to-month, according to figures released March 18 by mortgage technology firm FNC.

Housing markets across the West Coast once again beat out all others, according to the latest Home Value Forecast released March 18 by Pro Teck Valuation Services.

The amount of commercial and multifamily mortgage debt outstanding grew during the fourth quarter at the highest rate seen since 2007, surpassing the record high posted in the previous quarter, according to figures released by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage applications dropped for the second straight week as both purchase and refinance volume declined, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage default rates remained largely unchanged in February amidst mixed results nationwide, according to data released by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian.

Mortgage lender outlooks improved during the first quarter of 2015, according to a new sentiment survey from government sponsored enterprise Fannie Mae.

There is no guarantee that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will remain profitable in the years ahead, raising the possibility of further draws from Treasury, according to a report from the Federal Housing Finance Agency's inspector general.

Right now policy makers, industry participants and advocates are no doubt discussing how to remedy the housing industry's problems. Their discussions are based on assumptions that might not be correct.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., the second-largest servicer of U.S. mortgages, is buying the right to handle $45 billion of home loans from Ocwen Financial Corp., according to a person familiar with the transaction.

Fortress Investment Group plans to cash out its entire stake in commercial mortgage banker Walker & Dunlop.