REAL ESTATE

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Democrat Frank says abolish Freddie and Fannie: report

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be abolished rather than reformed as part of the Obama administration's planned overhaul of the government's role in housing finance, Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services committee, said on Tuesday.

Home refinancing demand at highest in 15 months

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Mortgage applications leaped last week as rock-bottom rates lifted demand for home refinancing loans to its highest level in 15 months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

July home building up

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Home building increased at a much weaker pace than expected in July, though sturdy growth in industrial output implied the embattled economy has enough strength to keep growing.
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PIMCO's Gross calls for massive mortgage refinance

Influential bond investor Bill Gross dispensed more policy advice than the U.S. Treasury bargained for on Tuesday, calling for a massive program to refinance mortgages at low rates to boost the flagging economy.
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Unemployment drives more home sellers to cut price

Owners cut prices on one-quarter of U.S. homes listed for sale in July, a fourth straight monthly rise, as job market fallout trumped record low mortgage rates, real estate website Trulia.com said on Wednesday.
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Freddie Mac says needs $1.8 billion from taxpayers

Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) on Monday said it would need another $1.8 billion in aid from taxpayers, bringing its total request since it was taken over by the government two years ago to more than $64 billion.
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Trend of mortgages underwater drops: Zillow

A smaller percentage of U.S. homeowners were saddled with underwater mortgages in the second quarter as more homes entered the foreclosure process even as price declines slowed, real estate website Zillow.com said on Monday.
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Mortgage rates hit record lows

Mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows amid concerns about the state of the economy, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac.
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Outdoors: Screened Porch Roundup

As summer slips away, we find ourselves thinking about how screened porches extend the seasons. Here's a roundup of some favorites.
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Senators urge permanent Fannie, Freddie regulator

A pair of key senators on Thursday urged President Barack Obama to name a permanent regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants seized by the government almost two years ago at the height of the financial crisis.
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Mortgage brokers to be fingerprinted and registered

Mortgage loan originators will have to be fingerprinted and sign up to a central registry to do business in future, according to final rules issued on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve and other regulators.
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Mortgage demand dips on rising rates

U.S. home loan demand cooled last week as rising mortgage rates curbed refinancing requests that had soared to a 14-month high, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
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Durable goods orders fall, business spending up

New orders for manufactured goods like cars and planes fell unexpectedly for a second straight month in June, posting the largest drop since August in a sign economic recovery cooled in the second quarter.
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Winemakers shun social media grapevine

More than 80 percent of the 532 French winemakers surveyed by online marketing company mysocialwinery.com said they did not blog or use Facebook, Twitter or other websites that allow consumers to comment, recommend, track or question wine producers.
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Home vacancies fall in Q2 but rentals steady

The rate of vacancies for homes slipped slightly in the second quarter, a government report showed on Tuesday, but it was not enough to promise improvement in the hard-hit housing market.
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June new home sales, May prices seen up slightly

Sales of new homes are seen rising by about 6.7 percent to a 320,000 unit annual rate in June from 300,000 in May. Sales plummeted 32.7 percent in May to the lowest since record-keeping started in 1963.
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Home sales surge in June

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rebounded strongly in June from the prior month's record low, pushing the number of houses on the market to the lowest level in nearly 42 years.
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June existing home sales fall 5.1 percent

U.S. existing home sales fell less sharply than expected to a three-month low in June, though the supply of unsold homes rose to the highest in almost a year, an industry group said on Thursday.
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Mortgage rates slide to new lows: Freddie Mac

U.S. 30- and 15-year mortgage rates fell to fresh lows in the past week amid concerns about the economy, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.
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Home sales hit 3-month low

Sales of previously owned homes hit a three-month low in June while new claims for jobless benefits surged last week, the latest indications that the economy is on the ropes.
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U.S. home loan demand jumps

U.S. mortgage applications jumped last week as demand for loans to purchase homes rose for the first time in five weeks, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.
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BofA alters mortgages under HAMP at slower rate

Bank of America Corp modified U.S. mortgages at a slower rate in June under the government's primary program to stem foreclosures, due to changing program requirements, the company said on Tuesday.
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Housing starts fall, permits offer ray of hope

Housing starts hit their lowest level in eight months in June, further evidence the economy lost momentum in the second quarter, but a rise in permits offered hope of a pick up in homebuilding.
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Homebuilder confidence at 15-month low

Home-builder sentiment fell more-than-expected in July to the lowest level in more than a year after a popular home-buyer tax credit expired in April, the National Association of Home Builders said on Monday.
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Analysis: Tough choices ahead for housing system

Faced with a lose-lose proposition, Congress put off its decision on the fate of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, perhaps hoping the housing market recovers before losses get too big.
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Banks repossess homes at record pace: RealtyTrac

Banks repossessed a record number of U.S. homes in the second quarter, but slowed new foreclosure notices to manage distressed properties on the market, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

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