REAL ESTATE

British house builder Telford Homes Plc (TELF.L) swung to a first-half pretax profit as it sold more new homes, reinstated its dividend and said it expected full-year results to be in line with the market view.

U.S. mortgage applications nudged higher last week, data from an industry group reported on Wednesday, as consumers showed a subdued reaction to the lowest interest rates in six months.

U.S. construction spending was flat overall in October at $910.8 billion despite the biggest surge in homebuilding in more than a decade, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday in a report that sharply revised the prior month's data.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose unexpectedly to their highest level in 3-1/2 years in October, a survey showed on Tuesday, suggesting the housing market recovery was gaining steam.

The Obama administration threatened on Monday to punish mortgage lenders with fines unless they speed up efforts to give hard-pressed homeowners a permanent break on monthly payments.

U.S. banks continue to face significant challenges, particularly from rising delinquencies in commercial real estate and commercial loans, a Federal Reserve official said on Monday.

Dubai's debt woes could further unhinge an already fragile U.S. commercial real estate market, as it illustrates the importance of that tiny emirate to global investors in an increasingly interconnected world.

The Treasury Department is expected to meet with lenders on Monday to press them to do more to rework troubled home mortgage loans, a source familiar with the Treasury's thinking said.

Australia has overtaken the United States, the heartland of the McMansion, to boast the world's largest homes, according to a report by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

U.S. mortgage rates sank to or near record lows in the past week, home funding company Freddie Mac said, improving affordability in a battered U.S. housing market that is starting to gather steam.

Sales of newly built U.S. single-family homes in October rose more than expected to their highest level in a year, data showed on Wednesday, pointing to a stabilizing housing market after a three-year slump.

Calpers, the biggest U.S. public pension fund, is considering dumping asset manager BlackRock Inc as its real estate consultant, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Demand for U.S. home loans slipped last week even as mortgage rates hovered near record lows, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

Sales of new U.S. single-family houses likely climbed in October, but forecasts varied widely on the impact of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, a Reuters survey found.

The world's largest seismically isolated building, the new international terminal at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport, is now complete and open for business.

Sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose in October at a faster-than-expected pace to the highest in more than 2-1/2 years as buyers rushed to take advantage of a popular tax credit, a survey showed on Monday.

Sales of existing U.S. homes likely rose for second consecutive month in October, reaching their highest level since July 2007, according to a Reuters poll, as buyers scrambled to take advantage of greater affordability and a first-time home buyer tax credit.

The recent deep economic downturn has had a pronounced impact on commercial real estate sectors, but credit availability is the big unknown that will determine how soon commercial markets recover, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

The basic question is: What month of the year carries the highest number of active properties? The answer is...

U.S. mortgage delinquency rates and the percentage of loans that entered the foreclosure process jumped in the third quarter, with both reaching record highs, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.

New U.S. housing starts in October unexpectedly fell to their lowest level in six months, weighed down by a sharp decline in construction activity for both single-family and multi-family dwellings, a government report showed on Wednesday.

Construction of new homes in the United States fell sharply last month, showing potential weakness in the economy's recovery, while consumer prices rose slightly more than expected.

U.S. home builder sentiment held steady at a low level in November, according to a survey taken before the government extended a popular tax credit for first-time buyers.

The Federal Reserve Board said on Monday it approved an interim final rule requiring that consumers be notified when their mortgage loan has been sold or transferred.

Lowe's Cos Inc , the second-largest U.S. home improvement chain, posted a 30 percent drop in quarterly profit on Monday as consumers put off big renovations while the U.S. housing market remained sluggish.

Tenants in a vast New York City apartment complex and owner Tishman Speyer on Friday said they had opened talks to settle a rent clash, one day before a planned rally against the landlord.

Lowe's Cos Inc, the second-largest U.S. home improvement chain, posted a 30 percent drop in quarterly profit as consumers put off big renovations as the U.S. housing market remains sluggish, sending shares down 2.1 percent in premarket trading.

Home sales will increase 15 percent to about 5.7 million units and REALTOR® income will be up 20 percent in 2010, NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told a packed room of REALTORS® today in a residential economic update at the 2009 NAR Conference & Expo.

The percentage of homes bought in the United States by first-time buyers rose significantly in the year through June, helped by a popular $8,000 tax credit, the National Association of Realtors said on Friday.