REAL ESTATE

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BofA to start reducing mortgage principal

Bank of America will on Wednesday announce plans to start forgiving mortgage loan principal for troubled homeowners who owe more than 120 percent of their home's value or are battling ever-expanding negative amortization loans.

Home loan modification program oversold: watchdog

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A U.S. program aimed at helping struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure has been oversold by the Treasury Department and is likely to be a failure when it wraps up in 2012, a report from the watchdog overseeing the $700 billion bank bailout said on Tuesday.

Home loan demand down 2nd week as rates rise

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U.S. mortgage applications fell for a second straight week, with demand for home loan refinancing sinking to its lowest level in a month as interest rates jumped, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.
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Geithner: Keep public role in housing finance

The government should continue to play a role in any new system of housing finance Congress develops, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told lawmakers on Tuesday as they began to debate an overhaul of the way Americans buy their homes.
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Stuyvesant Town servicer may be sold

CWCapital, which has moved to foreclose on the sprawling New Yock City apartment complex of Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village, may itself be sold.
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Housing starts, permits fall in February

Housing starts and permits to build new homes both fell in February as winter storms in some parts of the country disrupted home building, a government report showed on Tuesday.
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Winter storms hit housing starts

U.S. housing starts fell last month as winter storms disrupted construction and another drop in building permits suggested the weakness would linger.
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Bad weather depresses housing starts in Feb

U.S. housing starts fell last month as winter storms in some parts of the country disrupted home construction, and another drop in building permits pointed to underlying weakness in the near-term.
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Canada home resales cool for 2nd straight month

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.
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U.S. builder confidence slips in March

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
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BofA mortgage modifications jump in March

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.
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Carrier exec sees bottom in U.S. HVAC demand

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.
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Urbanizing China long way from residence reform

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.
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Foreclosures drop for 2nd month in February: RealtyTrac

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.
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US home loan demand nudge higher in latest week

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.
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US residential architecture billings rose in Q4-AIA

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.
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U.S. home sellers more realistic on prices: Trulia

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.
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Fed to linger in agency MBS market after exit

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.
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More work ahead on housing market: Treasury

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.
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AIG units settle mortgage discrimination case

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.
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Fewer sellers cut home prices in Feb: Zillow

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.
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Mortgage rate drop below 5 percent stirs demand

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.
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Homebuyers' negotiating power rises: Zillow

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.
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Obama proposes $3,000 home energy rebates

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.
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Fannie Mae specifies MBS loan buyouts for 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.

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