Housing markets

Mortgage application activity decreased 3.3% from one week earlier as purchase and refinance volume fell prior to the start of the home buying season, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Single-family-home prices in metro Denver continued to perform gravity-defying feats of appreciation last month, as sellers as buyers alike raced to join the spring home-selling circus.

Home sales in Manhattan plunged by the most since the recession as buyers at all price levels drove hard bargains and were in no rush to close deals.

The new federal budget approved this month boosted tax credits for corporations that help finance low-cost housing but the move is unlikely to help a long-stalled 63-unit affordable housing project with a $5 million funding gap.

Home values grew in all 50 states in February, but their appreciation is expected to slow within the next year, according to CoreLogic.

The housing market in the Dayton, Ohio, area continued to improve in February, with increases in the median sale price and number of homes sold.

Mortgage borrowers collectively hold more equity in their homes than at any other time on record, but they've been slow to borrow against this newfound wealth, according to Black Knight.

The median price of a Marin home rose to $885,750 in February, an 8.7% increase over the $815,000 median a year earlier.

Central Ohio home sales slipped in February as the number of homes for sale again dropped to record lows.

From purchase mortgage potential to challenges for loan officer productivity, reverse mortgages offer traditional lenders a mix of risks and rewards.

Metro Orlando recently ranked third nationally for its shortage of rentals that are affordable enough for the region's lowest-income residents, a new study shows.

Seattle kicked off 2018 the same way it spent the prior year and a half, as the hottest real estate market in the country, with no slowing down.

A gauge of signed contracts to purchase previously owned homes increased in February for the first time in three months, highlighting uneven progress in the industry.

Despite growth in senior-held mortgage debt, home equity for homeowners 62 and older grew to $6.6 trillion in the fourth quarter, according to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association and RiskSpan.

Single-family home sales in Anchorage have remained relatively stable as people have trickled out of Alaska during the state's current recession.

Metro Atlanta home prices rose 6.5% during the past year, outpacing the national average and increasingly squeezing first-time home buyers.

Despite soaring home prices, other factors needed to inflate a housing bubble are absent from the real estate market. But experts warn falling home values and rising mortgage defaults are inevitable, even if conditions naturally cool off.

Heading into a competitive spring housing market, optimism that now is a good time to buy hit its lowest share in two years, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Sales of existing single-family homes in Maine increased by about 6% in February compared with a year earlier, and the median sale price was up 8%, the Maine Association of Realtors said.

San Diego County home prices jumped 8.6% in February compared to a year ago, while sales remained tight as the region struggles with a shortage of homes for sale.