Housing Market | featured news

A Massachusetts man who pledged to make the last mortgage payment on his home with pennies has fulfilled that promise. After warning his bank, Thomas Daigle dropped off about 62,000 pennies weighing 800 pounds in two boxes for the final payment on the Milford home he and his wife, Sandra, bought in 1977.

Mortgage rates continued their decline this week, with the 30-year fixed-rate average having met or matched a record low in 10 of the past 11 weeks, according to the latest data released Thursday by Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate average fell to 3.62 percent, down from 3.66 percent last week and 4.60 percent a year ago.

The International Monetary Fund lowered its estimates for economic growth for 2012 and 2013, and urged policy makers to do more to help the housing sector in the United States.

CNN's Fareed Zakaria says improvement in the U.S. housing sector might give the rest of the economy a little hope.

Contracts to purchase previously owned U.S. homes matched a two-year high in May, fueling optimism the housing market is poised for a recovery.

Stocks ticked up after Monday's global selloff, as a measure of home prices fell less than expected. The S&P 500 rose five points, or 0.4%, to 1319 in mid-afternoon trade. The index's consumer discretionary sector advanced 1.3%, on track for its steepest daily climb since June 14.

New single-family home sales surged in May to a one-year high and prices rose from a year ago amid tightening supply, further signs the housing market was gaining some momentum.

Stockton, the California city with the nation's second-highest foreclosure rate, is facing a moment of decision on whether to become the biggest city to file for bankruptcy, as a deadline for talks between the city and its creditors approached late Monday.

The new center of U.S. mortgage lending is a nondescript office building in the American heartland, far from the California subprime lenders and the New York investment banks that drove the housing market into a bust.

For homeowners trying to get reparations in the wake of the foreclosure crisis, it's been a hit-or-miss experience. This week, another group of Americans bruised in the housing bust will get payouts from the banks, money meant to help them get on their feet again, but the cash may prove disappointing for many.