I knew it was coming, but I guess I was hoping it wouldn't be quite so tunnel-visioned. The Realtor's chief economist, Lawrence Yun, released his Housing and Economic Forecast this afternoon. The extension and expansion of the first time home buyer tax credit was the lead, as expected, with Yun claiming it would bring not only home sales but home prices back out of the basement in 2010.    Read More

FHA: "Bailout Doesn't Apply." Those are not my words, but the words of HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan toward the end of a lengthy explainer on the FHA's annual actuarial report, released this morning.    Read More

I'm back on the foreclosure bandwagon again, especially after getting the Treasury's Home Affordable Modification Program status report this morning, and its glaring omission of any information as to how many borrowers are actually keeping up with the payments on their trial modifications.    Read More

While we all worry so much about the auto industry, I find it astounding that we don't pay all that much attention to the battered industries behind the battered housing market.   Read More

While the Realtors and Home Builders and Mortgage Bankers all bask in the glow of the home buyer tax credit extension/expansion, we all need to turn our attention to the real drag on a housing recovery: Foreclosures.    Read More

Friday's Labor Department report showed that unemployment rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent in October, even though the pace of job losses slowed. How do the numbers affect the markets? David Joy, chief market strategist at RiverSource Investments, and Keith Goddard, president of Capital Advisors, shared their insights.   Read More

Earlier this week, the Federal Reserve kept its federal funds rate unchanged in a range of zero to 0.25 percent, and said the economy "continued to pick up" since its last meeting. Robert Barbera, chief economist at ITG shared his insights on how this impacts the financials and the economy.    Read More

Stocks gained on Thursday as a strong reading on productivity and an easing in jobless claims helped cheer investors. Steve Grasso, director of institutional sales at Stuart Frankel and CNBC market analyst, and Alan Valdes, vice president at Kabrik Trading, shared their market insights.   Read More

In landslide votes, the extension/expansion of the first time home buyer tax credit passed both houses of Congress and is now on its way to the President's desk for signing tomorrow.    Read More

Yep, thanks to a new program announced by the nation's largest owner of home loans, Fannie Mae, troubled borrowers can sign over the deed of their homes and rent back for the current market rate.   Read More