REAL ESTATE

Sales of existing homes in Canada dipped for a second straight month in February, but remained high on a year-over-year basis, as the market may be moving into more balanced conditions, data showed on Monday.

U.S. home-builder sentiment fell unexpectedly in March, hit by lack of credit for new projects and a flood of foreclosed properties, the National Associati 536870913 1869488239

Jon Daurio, chief executive officer of mortgage investor Kondaur Capital Corp., recently offered a $4,000 check to Barry Culver for the deed to his Bryan, Ohio house.

An Obama administration program to help struggling homeowners modify their mortgages has more than one million active borrowers,

Bank of America Corp completed 20,666 mortgage modifications in March under a U.S. government-backed program, up 61 percent from February, the bank said on Friday.

Wells Fargo & Co may be moving toward a settlement of Baltimore's lawsuit accusing it of steering minority borrowers to expensive home loans.

U.S. demand for residential heating and cooling systems, which was pounded by the long housing slump, may have hit bottom, the head of United Technologies Corp's Carrier air conditioner arm said.

They build the skyscrapers and lay the highways, mind the city children, sew the clothes and tend the shops, but China's army of migrant laborers are still fundamentally aliens in the country's bustling urban centers.

New home prices in Canada kept climbing in January, rising 0.4 percent from the previous month as expected, according to Statistics Canada on Thursday.

U.S. mortgage foreclosure filings dropped for a second straight month in February, and notched the smallest annual increase in four years as housing-rescue efforts contained activity, a report released on Thursday showed.

U.S. mortgage applications nudged up last week, reflecting increased demand for home purchase loans even as interest rates trekked higher, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

A leading indicator of U.S. residential construction spending rose in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, but business conditions remained weak as the housing downturn lingers, an architects' trade group said on Tuesday.

The percentage of U.S. homeowners who cut the listing price on their houses fell in February to the lowest level in 10 months, as initial pricing became more realistic heading into the spring selling season, real estate web site Trulia.com said on Tuesday.

Now that the U.S. Federal Reserve has nearly finished its massive mortgage bond buying spree, its huge portfolio could be used to tighten credit if and when the economy begins to show real signs of recovery.

The Obama administration has more work to do to help struggling U.S. homeowners, despite signs of a stabilizing housing market, a senior Treasury official said on Monday.

Two AIG units settled federal charges that they discriminated against black home buyers on fees for mortgages and will pay $7.1 million for restitution and education efforts, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.

Hedge fund firm Pine River, which makes big bets on housing, is bracing for a double dip in that market, its chief executive officer said on Tuesday.

The percentage of U.S. home sellers who cut their asking price declined again in February and sellers made slightly smaller reductions in prices, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.

U.S. mortgage rates retreated below 5 percent last week, propping demand for home loans after purchase applications sank to a nearly 13-year low the prior week, Mortgage Bankers Association data showed on Wednesday.

Homebuyers in much of the United States paid thousands of dollars below asking prices in January, and gained negotiating power for a second straight month, real estate website Zillow.com said on Wednesday.

on Tuesday proposed rebates of up to $3,000 to help homeowners pay for the cost of making their homes more energy efficient, a $6 billion program intended to create jobs.

More homeowners are falling behind on their mortgages, jeopardizing the nascent housing recovery and raising the possibility that home prices have not found their bottom but could instead fall further.

Land & Houses PCL LH.BK, Thailand's biggest home builder, said on Tuesday it expected to report only single-digit growth in net profit in 2010 due to higher costs as government tax breaks expire in March.

Fannie Mae, the largest provider of funding for U.S. residential loans, on Monday said it would purchase up to 200,000 delinquent loans from its mortgage-backed securities in March as it sought to clarify a new policy that has roiled the market.

An Obama administration program aimed at helping homeowners whose homes have declined in value get new loans has been extended another year, a key housing regulator said on Monday.

Two key Republicans are urging the House of Representatives to speed up a public hearing to investigate the administration's bailout of home funding giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Sales of previously owned homes in the United States unexpectedly plunged in January, an industry survey showed on Friday, fresh evidence the housing market has yet to find stable ground.

Billionaire hedge fund investor John Paulson and other investors are bidding on land they will sell to lot-strapped homebuilders even as the housing market remains uncertain, according to sources familiar with the matter.

U.S. mortgage rates rose for the first time in three weeks, leaping above 5 percent, a key level that could suppress demand for home loans, a closely watched mortgage survey showed on Thursday.