News / Features

Houston RPI Up for August and Contrary to National Averages

The latest Residential Price Index from FNC Inc., released October 20th, indicates that U.S. residential home prices declined in August by a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.8 percent, despite high level of sales during the

Study Claims MERS Destroyed the Chain of Title and Consequently, the Housing Market

David Woolley, a California licensed land surveyor and certified fraud examiner, is leading a new study in tandem with the Harbinger Analytics Group Real Estate Fraud Experts on the recently disbanded company, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS).  The topic

Holes in the TARP for Community Banks

The Troubled Asset Relief  Program, or TARP, was a $750 billion infusion of cash into the U.S. financial sector, namely to banks addled by derivatives and other financial products. The largest recipients of TARP – Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Wells

New Bill May Help Homeowners With Energy Costs

The Sensible Accounting and Value Energy Act (SAVE), according to the Institute for Market Transformations, may cause lenders to take the energy bills of borrowers into account before setting their mortgage rates. The bill, co-sponsored by Senators Michael Bennett

Pending Home Sales Index Retains Yearly Gains

Though the Pending Home Sales Index declined in September,  activity remains above a year ago, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR). A forward-looking indicator that is based on contract signings, the index fell 4.6 percent

Back to the Drawing Board for Bipartisan Housing Committee

The Bipartisan Policy Center has announced a new, bipartisan Housing Commission tasked with conducting a top-down analysis of the U.S. housing market and its long term trends. Co-chaired by two former U.S. Senators and two former heads of the

No Market Face/Offs for Houston Real Estate

The Houston real estate market is undergoing an interesting phenomenon. The apartments and housing sectors, long antagonistic in analysts’ eyes, are both on the rise. Single-family homes sales for September were up 16.9 percent from last year, while the Houston

Slashed Prices Propel Single-Family Home Sales in Sept.

After four straight months of declines, new single-family home sales in September were up 5.7 percent from August, an increase from 296,000 units to 316,000 units, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing

Construction to Commence on Millennium High Street Project

A multifamily project led by The Dinerstein Cos. and Coventry Real Estate Advisors will be moving forward now that the partners have closed on the acquisition. The project has been named Millennium High Street and will be located inside

Galveston Housing Authority Plans to Rebuild After Hurricane

The Galveston Housing Authority has announced its plans to rebuild some of the 569 public housing units devastated in Hurricane Ike three years ago. Under federal regulations, only half of the destroyed units can be

Mayor Parker Makes Offer on Historic Elementary School

In a recent announcement, Mayor Annise Parker revealed plans to purchase the old Rufus Cage Elementary School, located at the intersection of Telephone Road and Baird Street. The building, which was built in 1910, is named after Rufus Cage,

MERS Unfazed by Possible Lawsuit from Harris County

The  Attorney’s Office of Harris County, Houston is prepping for a potential lawsuit with the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), alleging that the noted company owes the county upwards of $11 million in unpaid mortgage filing

Lawmakers Hoping Housing Takes Visa

Two senators are proposing a remarkably simple idea to to foreigners to spur housing investment – buy a house, get a visa. It may seem coy, but the proposal by Sens. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Mike Lee (R., Utah) really

Senate Increases Federal Loan Limits in Wake of Ill Effects

In a late hour vote, the Senate approved by a 60-38 margin a measure to expand federal loan limits and return government-backed loans to the $729,750 that had been in effect the last three

Case-Shiller Reports 0.2 Percent Increase for Dallas Home Prices

Dallas fared reasonably well in the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the monthly report by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) that is the leading measure of U.S. home prices. The newest report, which surveys home prices for August, found monthly prices

FHFA Eliminates Major Restrictions to HARP Refinancing

After literally months of deliberation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced that it is eliminating several restrictions to the government’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) to allow more delinquent homeowners to refinance their mortgages. Beginning with passive references

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