Housing

The consumer bureau and Maryland's AG allege the loan officers received consumer data and other services in return for business referrals.

Top housing economists don’t think an Oil Patch slowdown will result in a weaker national housing market.

Mortgage rates near record lows, an improving job market and gradually easing credit standards will converge to make it the best year for home construction since 2007, say economists.

Home prices rose more than economists estimated in November, a sign job growth is helping to boost housing demand.

Hearing arguments in Texas case, Justice Scalia and others were skeptical that the controversial legal theory used in fair housing cases should be invalidated.

Julian Castro, secretary of housing and urban development, said 2015 will be a year of "housing opportunity" as the economy continues its rebound.

In the past, the most prominent tax breaks have generally been treated as equals — the mortgage deduction is pretty much the same as, say, the capital gains preference or the charitable contributions write-off. But they're not equal.

Same-sex married couples who own their homes can now change the way their property is deeded, holding it in a way that wasn't available to them before the same-sex marriage became legal in Florida this month.

Houston-area home sales hit a record high in 2014, but with low oil prices expected to drag down regional growth, the local real estate market is poised for a slower year ahead.

The Obama Administration's decision to cut the FHA annual premium by 50 basis points will do little to boost a lagging housing market where banks are looking for near-zero lending risk.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders hovered in January close to a nine-year high, indicating the residential real estate market is poised to expand this year.

First-timers may return to the market in greater numbers this year, however, according to some analysts, who point to low interest rates, a stronger job market and high rents, all of which make buying more attractive.

A recently launched program in New York state is helping distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure.

Mortgage-focused real estate investment trusts, including those affiliated with Western Asset Management and Pine River Capital Management, are backing loans to Americans who don't meet banks' requirements.

Lennar Corp., the biggest U.S. homebuilder by market value, said fiscal fourth-quarter earnings climbed about 50% as it sold more houses at higher prices.

Mortgage rates fell for a second week, holding at the lowest level in more than a year and a half, as declining financing costs boost loan demand.

A federal agency's plan to tighten membership rules for Federal Home Loan banks would hurt community banks and credit unions — and could endanger the financial system, according to a broad array of stakeholders, including state regulators, lawmakers and institutions.

Capital markets hold the key to the future for the consolidating Wall Street landlords, but the path through is downright bloody.

KB Home fell the most in almost three years after saying its fiscal first-quarter gross margin will narrow significantly and that it's unlikely to meet its goal of a 20% margin for 2015.

Fears that lower Federal Housing Administration premiums will negatively affect private mortgage insurance firms are overblown. If anything, the plan should be a modest positive for the overall housing market.