Roland Li

U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates averaged 3.95 percent in the week ending Dec. 29, according to Freddie Mac.

An affiliate of the World-Wide Group has sold a two-story commercial building at 646 Eleventh Avenue for $27.75 million, according to New York City records.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities fell 3.4 percent in October compared with the previous year, signaling continued weakness in the housing market, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

Sometimes, New York feels like its own country. Even as the rest of the U.S. struggles in the face of a down housing market, the New York of 2011 saw skyscrapers charge ever upwards, with pricing inevitably following. It is truly the global city, with developers, buyers and architects from around the world gathering to shape the future. Here are five of the biggest developments of 2011.

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes increased to an annual rate of 315,000 in November, up 1.6 percent from October and 9.8 percent from November 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

As the end of 2011 approaches, the housing market is another year removed from the subprime mortgage meltdown. But the legacy of the crash remains, as homeowners, lenders, regulators and brokers alike continue to deal with falling home prices, a glut of unprocessed foreclosures and an uncertain economy.

U.S. average 30-year fixed-rate mortgages hit another record low of 3.91 percent in the week ending Dec. 22, according to Freddie Mac.

U.S. sales of existing homes were up 4 percent in November to an annual rate of 4.42 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), suggesting that a housing recovery is beginning.

Daniel Mudd, the former CEO of Fannie Mae, will take a leave of absence as CEO of Fortress Investment Group in the wake of an Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Tuesday sued Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the mortgage companies' regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), tried to block subpoenas seeking mortgage information.

The Rockefeller Group and Mitsubishi Estate New York have purchased a Washington D.C. office building from Tishman Speyer.

U.S. housing starts increased 9.3 percent in November to the highest level of 2011, according to the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

AT&T said on Monday that it would drop its $39 billion bid to buy Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA in the face of regulatory pressure.

Ex-Citigroup chairman Sanford Weill has sold his penthouse at 15 Central Park West in Manhattan for $88 million, a new record for a single residential sale in the city.

Homebuilder confidence was up in December for the third consecutive month, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and Wells Fargo.

MVRDV's The Cloud has attracted criticism, but the risk taken is essential for design to move forward.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday sued six former executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with securities fraud, alleging that they knew and approved of misleading statements related to the companies' holdings of subprime loans.

The estate of Lehman Brothers has sought to match Sam Zell's $1.33 billion bid for a 26.5 percent stake in Archstone, sharpening the rivalry for the multifamily housing giant.

After years of economic turmoil, U.S. homebuilders should see modest gains and a stable outlook in 2012, according to a report from Fitch Ratings.

Overall U.S. foreclosure activity fell in November compared to the previous month, but auctions hit a nine-month high, according to RealtyTrac.

U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rates fell in the week ending Dec. 15 to 3.94 percent, matching an all-time historic low, according to Freddie Mac.

Regus specializes in short-term, flexible office leasing. The company has expanded to over 92 countries with 1,200 locations, and with the soft economy, it is poised to continue growth.

Morgan Stanley has returned $700 million to investors after its main real estate fund performed weaker than expected, reported the Wall Street Journal.

U.S. mortgage applications increased 4.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis in the week ending Dec. 9, led by an increase in refinances, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The city of Chicago said on Tuesday that it would vigorously defend a lawsuit filed by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which challenges an ordinance regulating the maintenance of vacant properties.

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) will revise data on sales of existing homes going back to January 2007 because of improper counting, signaling that the housing market was weaker than previously reported.

Republicans raised concerns on Tuesday over the Obama administration's nominee to head the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), as a possible bailout for the agency looms.

Archstone, the national multifamily giant in the midst of an ownership struggle, announced on Tuesday it had purchased a Manhattan apartment tower for $131 million.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, on Monday sued the city of Chicago over its new vacant buildings ordinance.