According to a noted nonprofit in Berkeley, Calif., nonprofits should not only play a key role in any government plan for REOS, but should also ensure that REOs effectively help the entire community. The government’s catalog of REOs is

Local banks, the small-scale, community-based financial institutions that seemingly avoided the financial crisis, could be the answer to the current housing blues, according to National Association of Realtors President Ron Phipps – though there may be some caveats that

In regards to new home starts, the Houston real estate market is currently leading the nation. Houston has also managed to keep property value from falling during recent years. Unfortunately for homebuilders, new fees and regulations for home construction

The Houston-based real estate management company, McCord Development Inc., recently sold the Willowick Court Townhomes to an affiliate of Martin Fein Interests, a real estate development, construction and management business. Fein plans on demolishing the 10-acre property, located at

It’s been a good year for Woodforest, the master-planned community located along a Montgomery golf course. This year’s new home sales show an almost 20 percent increase over last year’s through early

The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that it will begin a new round of stimulus to jumpstart the U.S. economy, with housing and refinancing being two main beneficiaries of the stimulus’ goal. The Fed’s plan, officially called “Operation Twist,” is

The community of Riverstone has set new records with 2011 new-home sales thus far, with a substantial increase over last year’s year-to-date sales for

A new survey by Xerox on real estate and technology yielded interesting data about the industry, particularly for the e-mortgage market. Sixty-three percent of the lenders surveyed by Xerox used paperless mortgage software in 2011, an increase of 14

Two construction-related statistics – building permits and the architecture billings index – made gains in August, a positive indication that the more foundational elements of construction may be improving. Building permits were up by almost 20 thousand from July,

After weeks of speculation and debate, the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) Acting Director, Edward DeMarco, has finally offered some specifics on a possible revamp of the agency’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). Speaking at the American Mortgage Conference

Existing home sales exceeded expectations in August, growing at a seasonally-adjusted monthly rate of 7.7 percent  and year-over-year rate of 18.6 percent. Existing homes include single family, town homes, condominiums and co-ops. For the South, monthly sales were up

NASA may conduct training and space research at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, but the area’s real estate may soon be joining those astronauts if it keeps posting year-over-year sales like it did in August. According

The Residential Remodeling Index, which is compiled monthly by Austin, Tx.-based BuildFax, rose in July for the 21st straight month, an indication that homeowners are opting to renovate their current homes rather than buy new properties – and with

Glenbrook Valley is steadily regaining popularity and growing into one of the city’s up-and-coming communities. The neighborhood, located on Houston’s southeast side, was marked as a historic designation earlier this summer. Residents say they are drawn towards the mid-century

HouseFix.com, an online social networking community for homeowners and contractors, debuted recently to mixed reviews. The site offers peer recommendations for the home repair industry and launched at the TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield (TCDB), a premier conference for startup companies.

Existing home sales in August are projected to increase 5.4 percent from July and 15.8 percent year-over-year, according to the most recent projections from Tom Lawler, a noted analyst of the housing market. Lawler said he based his estimates