Housing Market | featured news

Sales of new U.S. homes cooled off in December compared with November, but sales for the entire year were the best since 2009.

HSBC Holdings Plc agreed to pay $249 million to end a case-by-case review of past foreclosures in the U.S., regulators announced on Friday.

Consumer advocates have complained that U.S. mortgage lenders are getting off easy in a deal to settle charges that they wrongfully foreclosed on many homeowners....

U.S. builders started work on homes in December at the fastest pace since the summer of 2008 and finished 2012 as their best year for residential construction since the early stages of the housing crisis.

The government's consumer lending watchdog finalized new rules Thursday aimed at protecting homeowners from shoddy service and unexpected fees charged by companies that collect their monthly mortgage payments.

Those who own homes outright include retirees and a surprisingly high percentage of young adults, real estate website Zillow finds.What mortgage meltdown?

Ten major banks and mortgage companies agreed Monday to pay $8.5 billion to settle federal complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes.

A $10 billion settlement to resolve claims of foreclosure abuses by major lenders is expected to be announced on Monday, several people with knowledge of the discussions said.

A housing renaissance has begun. This may be hard to believe after the dizzying, six-year-long crash in home sales, construction and house prices. But housing turned the corner last year, and it will take off in 2013.

Mortgage rates, which took some dramatic dips in 2012, were among the lowest on record this year, according to data released by Freddie Mac on Thursday. The 30-year fixed-rate average dropped to 3.35 percent, down 0.7 from the week before. It is substantially lower than the 3.95 percent level it reached during the final week of 2011.