FREDDIE MAC

Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's regulator on Saturday rejected criticism he was obstructing a housing recovery by taking too narrow a view of his mission to protect the financial health of the two massive, taxpayer-supported mortgage firms.

Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's regulator on Saturday rejected criticism he was obstructing a housing recovery by taking too narrow a view of his mission to protect the financial health of the two massive, taxpayer-supported mortgage firms.

The White House said Friday it would conduct an independent review of the U.S. Energy Department's loan portfolio following the collapse of Solyndra, the solar-panel maker that went bankrupt last month after receiving a hefty federal loan guarantee.

A controversial weapon could be deployed soon in the U.S. fight against the housing crisis as states and top banks near a deal in their dispute over mortgage abuses -- cutting the mortgage debt owed by homeowners.

The regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was reviewing a proposal to help troubled homeowners by forgiving a portion of their outstanding mortgage debt, Democrats in the House of Representatives said on Wednesday.

Big investors are showing interest in an evolving Obama administration plan to sell off foreclosed homes, although the government will have to make the offer sweet enough to coax private funds.

Freddie Mac's chief executive, Charles E. Ed Haldeman Jr, will step down by the end of the year, the regulator of the company said on Wednesday.

Charles Haldeman Jr., CEO of mortgage giant Freddie Mac, will resign by the end of the year, the organization said on Wednesday.

New single-family home sales rose at their fastest pace in five months in September, a government report showed on Wednesday, but sustained price declines indicated the housing market is far from recovery.

The U.S. government announced Monday that it will revise the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) which would allow underwater homeowners to refinance their mortgages. But will the HARP overhaul affect the housing market and the economy at a whole? Here are 5 things you need to know about HARP.

U.S. homeowners who owe more than their properties are worth got new help on Monday when a U.S. regulator expanded a government program in a step that could help up to one million borrowers.

President Barack Obama will tout newly unveiled measures on Monday aimed at aiding struggling homeowners and easing the U.S. housing crisis on the first leg of a campaign-style swing through western states crucial to his re-election in 2012.

A leading housing regulator on Monday announced changes to a government refinancing program that could help up to one million homeowners whose homes are worth less than their mortgage.

President Barack Obama will unveil new measures to help struggling homeowners on Monday in the first leg of a campaign-style swing through western states that may be crucial to his re-election in 2012.

President Barack Obama this week will announce a series of actions to help the economy that will not require congressional approval, including an initiative to make it easier for homeowners to refinance their mortgages, a White House official said.

Homeowners who owe more than their houses are worth will get new help to refinance in a government plan to be unveiled as early as Monday to support the battered housing sector, sources familiar with the effort said.

Two top Federal Reserve officials are arguing the U.S. central bank should consider resuming controversial large-scale mortgage bond purchases to support a fragile economic recovery.

The Obama administration and the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to unveil new steps to help distressed homeowners in the next week or two, a senior congressional aide said on Thursday.

Average mortgage rates essentially held steady this week as they remain near their 60-year lows.

Under the proposed terms of the settlement -- which could total $25 billion -- banks would get a broader relief from potential state civil lawsuits in exchange for refinancing underwater loans, those mortgages where borrowers owe more than their homes are worth, sources said.

With the housing market still struggling from the burst of the housing bubble several years ago, rental housing has been on an upswing.