REAL ESTATE

A record number of homeowners lost houses to their banks in August as lenders worked through the backlog of distressed mortgages, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost the government $53 billion through 2020 or save the government as much as $44 billion, depending on the accounting principles used.

A boutique investment bank and a building developer plan to offer tenants of Manhattan's largest privately owned apartment complex the chance to become owners.

Mortgage applications for home loan refinancing fell for a second straight week, dropping to its lowest level since early August, as rock-bottom interest rates failed to boost demand.

Beazer Homes USA Inc cut its full-year outlook for new home orders after the expiration of a federal homebuyer tax credit, saying potential buyers remain cautious amid high unemployment and continued foreclosures.

More U.S. homeowners slashed their asking prices for a third straight month in August to lure buyers into a market hindered by high unemployment, a study showed on Wednesday.

Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will not exist in their current form after a revamp of the U.S. housing finance system, a top Obama administration official said on Tuesday.

Morgan Stanley on Friday said Jay Mantz would be vice chairman of its real estate investing group.

Fifty percent of Harbor Shores's available real estate inventory has been sold. In numbers, Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Mich., sold 28 of 56 home sites.

Michael Barr, assistant treasury secretary for financial institutions, and Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency will testify on Capitol Hill next week on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A key U.S. banking regulator raised concern on Wednesday about the risk of exposure the government is taking on in the mortgage market and urged more stringent standards for underwriting mortgages.

The federal government should take mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac off life support sooner rather than later.

Homebuilders in the United States, who lost hundreds of millions of dollars when land they bought during the housing boom lost value after the bust, are bidding up lots despite new softness in the market.

The number of U.S. homes listed for sale rose in August compared to July, marking the 8th consecutive monthly rise, according to data released by real estate brokerage ZipRealty.

Americans applied to buy homes at the highest pace last week since May, but more than 8 of every 10 loan requests was for a refinancing, Mortgage Bankers Association data show on Wednesday.

Offshore debt sales spurs confidence that the borrowers have the resources to weather a slowing economy, make clear by the fact that bonds issued by China developers are rebounding from their worst first half in two years as a record $6.8 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Like everything else, there are two sides to this supposed upside of a buoyant property market in several Asian countries.

Network Communications Inc, the company behind U.S.-based real estate-related publications such as The Real Estate Book, said on Friday it signed its fourth extension on a standstill agreement with lenders as it continues talks on restructuring debt ahead of a November expiration.

The percentage of U.S. home sellers who cut their asking price fell in August, the first time in five months, with price reductions holding steady from the month before, real estate website Zillow.com said.

A further downturn in the battered U.S. housing market has put the Obama administration in a tough spot with few tools to stem foreclosures ahead of congressional elections in which Democrats face big losses.

Frequent trips to the Met's Egyptian rooms in New York inspired Leede's debut Ra Collection of textiles, which features block-printed Ancient Egyptian motifs and a subtle, earthy palette.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, rose 5.2 percent to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly revised 75.5 in June, but remains 19.1 percent below July 2009 when it was 98.1.

Two top U.S. Federal Reserve officials on Thursday called for a more community-focused approach to the country's ongoing foreclosure crisis, which is weighing on its economic recovery.

Pending sales of previously owned U.S. homes rose unexpectedly in July, an industry group said on Thursday, suggesting a tax credit-related housing market decline was close to bottoming.

U.S. mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows as yields on government debt dropped, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

Fannie Mae, the largest provider of funding for U.S. residential mortgages, will begin demanding compensation from mortgage servicing companies that fail to properly handle troubled mortgage loans.

U.S. officials are not discussing renewal of a popular homebuyer tax credit that expired in April, U.S. President Barack Obama's top housing adviser said on Wednesday.

U.S. mortgage applications for home purchasing and refinancing increased last week as interest rates hit a new low, a glimmer of hope for a housing market that has failed to find footing in the absence of government support.

U.S. troubled loans held by banks declined for the first time in more than four years, pushing bank industry earnings up to $21.6 billion in the second quarter.