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During last year's fourth quarter, commercial and multifamily loan originations increased by 11% from the same time a year before, a new report by the Mortgage Bankers Association says.

While many of the lenders and investment firms seeking to profit from higher-risk mortgages are working to revive the business of bundling such loans into bonds, Citadel, one of the biggest players, is in no rush to see that happen.

The sale of real estate owned properties generated greater returns than short sales in December, according to Black Knight Financial Services.

Home prices were up 5% in December from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic.

Home sales in Southern California's San Fernando Valley tanked in 2014, falling 7 percent from a year earlier to a record low in response to rising prices and scant inventory.

The Greenwich, Conn., Town Assessor's office booked paperwork for 40 residential real estate closings last month, with a median sale price of $1.3 million, down significantly from last January's median closing price of $2 million.

Borrowers with lower credit scores accounted for a greater share of loan volume in December 2014 than they did in December 2012, according to a sample of mortgages processed by the Ellie Mae loan origination system.

While Rhode Island's real estate market made gains in 2014, the aftereffects of the foreclosure crisis continue to hold the housing market back from a more robust recovery.

D.C. is one of the only jurisdictions in the country to guarantee tenants the right to band together and purchase a building before the landlord can offer it to an outside buyer.

The number of foreclosure cases initiated against Hawaii property owners fell last year for the first time in four years.