Housing Market, Real Estate | featured news

Groundbreaking on new homes rose in June to its fastest pace in over three years, lending a helping hand to an economy that has shown worrisome signs of cooling. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday that housing starts rose 6.9 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000 units. That was the highest rate since October 2008.

Confidence among U.S. homebuilders is swelling to a five-year high, with many now anticipating that sales of new homes will strengthen this year even as signs point to a slowing economy.

San Bernardino County, with some of the nation’s highest foreclosure rates, may use eminent domain to buy up mortgages and cut them to the current value of the homes.

Wells Fargo Bank will pay at least $175 million to settle accusations that it discriminated against African-American and Hispanic borrowers in violation of fair-lending laws, the Justice Department announced Thursday.

The elderly and other vulnerable homeowners are losing their homes because they owe as little as a few hundred dollars in back taxes, according to a report from a consumer group....

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.

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.

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.