Real Estate

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• More Houses Sit Empty as Vacancy Rates Surge Monday, 28 Apr 2008 | 10:36 AM ET

  

  The share of U.S. homes owned but empty edged up in the first quarter to a record high 2.9 percent, the U.S. Census Bureau said Monday in a report adding more evidence of a deepening housing slump.

• Australia's Centro Seeks Bids for 25 Malls Monday, 28 Apr 2008 | 2:00 AM ET

  Australia's debt-laden Centro Properties Group said it is seeking bids for 25 of its shopping centres, but hopes to retain at least 50 percent ownership in them to retain management and leasing control.

• Bank of America to Ditch Some Risky Mortgages Tuesday, 22 Apr 2008 | 11:11 AM ET

  Bank of America said Tuesday it plans to stop offering some riskier mortgage loans after it finishes buying Countrywide Financial, the largest U.S. mortgage lender.

• Florida's Luxury Home Market Shows Signs of Wear Monday, 21 Apr 2008 | 8:46 AM ET

  

  The surprisingly healthy market for oceanfront mansions and palatial condos in Florida, one of the most toxic states in America's housing meltdown, may finally be showing some cracks.

• UK Details $100 Billion Mortgage Plan Monday, 21 Apr 2008 | 7:56 AM ET

  

  The Bank of England moved to ease the effects of a credit crunch on the UK's banking system on Monday by offering to swap secure government bonds for riskier mortgage debt.

• BoE Mortgage Plan has No Upper Limit: King Monday, 21 Apr 2008 | 6:52 AM ET

  

  The Bank of England's mortgage rescue plan has no upper limit on the amount banks can swap for government debt and it would depend on what they needed to meet their operational needs, BoE Governor King said on Monday.

• Bank of England to Unveil Plan to Unblock Home Loans Sunday, 20 Apr 2008 | 8:28 AM ET

  

  The Bank of England will unveil on Monday a plan to swap government bonds for commercial banks' mortgage debt in an effort to unblock the home loan market and ease the effects of the credit crunch on consumers.

• Refinancings Boost US Mortgage Applications Wednesday, 16 Apr 2008 | 7:02 AM ET

  

  U.S. home loan applications climbed last week, as lower mortgage rates spurred demand for refinancings and overshadowed a small drop in applications to buy houses, an industry group said on Wednesday.

• Builders Pessimistic About Slumping Housing Market Tuesday, 15 Apr 2008 | 1:34 PM ET

  

  A reading of U.S. homebuilders' sentiment remained unchanged in April, just shy of its record low for the third consecutive month as the housing market failed to recover.

• UK RICS House Price Balance Falls to Lowest Since 1978 Tuesday, 15 Apr 2008 | 5:14 AM ET

  

  British surveyors reported the most widespread fall in house prices last month in the 30-year history of their RICS market survey, suggesting the property downturn is gathering pace.

• More Worry About Making Mortgage Payments: Poll Monday, 14 Apr 2008 | 1:46 PM ET

  

  One in seven mortgage holders worry about making their monthly payments and even more fret  about shrinking home values.

• Merrill, CLSA Raising Big Asian Property Funds Sunday, 13 Apr 2008 | 11:17 PM ET

  

  U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch and Asian brokerage CLSA are separately raising investment funds focused on Asian property, indicating continued confidence in the region's economies, executives from the two companies said at the weekend.

• Bogus Rescuers Cheat Distressed Homeowners Friday, 11 Apr 2008 | 9:34 AM ET

  

  Among the byproducts of the U.S. housing crisis is a surge in scams that cheat people out of their money, their homes, or both, under the guise of offering to rescue them from foreclosure.

• 30-Year Mortgage Rates Hold Steady Thursday, 10 Apr 2008 | 1:03 PM ET

  

  Rates on 30-year mortgages were unchanged this week, remaining at the highest level since mid-March.

• Senate Passes Housing Bill, But More Changes Likely Thursday, 10 Apr 2008 | 12:25 PM ET

  

  The Senate has passed a bipartisan measure aimed at boosting the housing market and easing the threat of foreclosures.

• Bush Backs Plan to Help 500,000 Home Borrowers Wednesday, 9 Apr 2008 | 10:59 AM ET

  

  President Bush has approved a plan to expand a housing program to insure loans for creditworthy homeowners unable to meet mortgage payments and which is expected to help about 500,000 borrowers by the end of this year, the White House said Wednesday.

• Housing Bill Overwhelmingly Wins Key Senate Vote Tuesday, 8 Apr 2008 | 4:02 PM ET

  

  The U.S. Senate Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to proceed on a bill tackling the nation's housing market crisis with a range of tax breaks for corporations and some help for homeowners, even as the Bush Administration said it won't support the bill.

• Pending Home Sales Fall 1.9% to Record Low Tuesday, 8 Apr 2008 | 10:10 AM ET

  

  Pending sales of previously owned homes fell a bigger-than-expected 1.9 percent in February to the lowest reading on record, according to a report from a real estate trade group.

• Foreclosures Are Spreading To McMansion Country Monday, 7 Apr 2008 | 10:18 AM ET

  

  Poor people weren't the only ones who took out risky, high-interest loans during the housing boom.

• Senate Rejects Bankruptcy Part of Housing-Aid Bill Thursday, 3 Apr 2008 | 4:20 PM ET

  The U.S. Senate voted against adding an amendment to a housing market rescue bill that would have given bankruptcy judges the power to ease mortgage payment terms for some distressed borrowers.