FORECLOSURES

A Senate wrangle over soaring budget deficits on Tuesday stopped the passage of a crucial extension of unemployed benefits to millions of Americans experiencing the sting of the worst jobs crisis in three decades. The failure of the lame duck Congress to extend benefits will cut off sustenance payments to two million people in December, adding to the woes of home losses, bankruptcies and foreclosures, besides also setting back the economic recovery. Here's a quick lowdown on the situation.

U.S. home prices fell by 2.0 percent in the third quarter of 2010, after having risen 4.7 percent in the second quarter, according to data from S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

U.S. home loan demand rose sharply in the week ended Nov. 19, reaching a two-year high, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said on Wednesday.

Existing home sales in the U.S. dropped in October after two months of strong increases, the National Association of Realtors said in a statement.

The nation that once gloated over its ability to feed the entire world is seeing an explosion of poverty: The number of people surviving on food stamps is rising as biting unemployment refuses to abate, personal incomes have been falling while the debt bubble is inflating with each passing day and, in a more startling representation of the grim reality, tent cities are mushrooming as more and more people are pushed out of their ‘underwater’ homes.

As “Black Friday” approaches next week, U. S. retailers are expecting a strong holiday season – at least, compared to the dismal performance of the past two years.

U.S. home loan demand fell sharply in the last week, as fixed mortgage rates rose from near all-time lows.

Home foreclosures in the U.S. in October fell by 9 percent primarily because some major banks temporarily froze foreclosure proceedings and delayed sales of foreclosed properties nationwide after being criticized for shoddy paperwork, according to real estate data company RealtyTrac.

Connecticut's attorney general on Friday called on state courts to freeze home foreclosures for 60 days after borrowers claimed that major lenders may be making misstatements in the foreclosure process.

Fallout over GMAC Mortgage's foreclosure practices deepened on Tuesday as Ohio's top law enforcement official asked courts in that state to review all foreclosure cases involving the Ally Financial Inc unit.

According to a recent realty report by Reuters, an unbelievable number of US homeowners lost their homes to banks. RealtyTrac, a real estate data company sees a record 1.2 million repossessions this year, up from just fewer than 1 million last year, with more than 3.2 million US homes in some stage of foreclosure.

The number of U.S. homes headed for foreclosure fell during the second quarter, marking the first such drop since the housing slump began in 2006, but the improvement may be fleeting as the number of newly delinquent homeowners rose, a banking group said on Wednesday.

The number of U.S. homes headed for foreclosure fell in the second quarter for the first time since the housing slump began in 2006, but improvements may be fleeting as the number of newly delinquent homeowners rose, a banking group said on Wednesday.

More Americans fell into foreclosure in July as a sour job market kept them from making payments, and banks took over homes at a near record pace.

Foreclosures rose in 3 of every four large U.S. metro areas in this year's first half, likely ruling out sustained home price gains until 2013, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Foreclosures for sale continue to rise in Florida as more homeowners default on their home loans.

Foreclosure activity fell in April as lenders repossessed homes at a record pace but started far fewer new actions against struggling homeowners, signaling a plateau in loan failures, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Foreclosure activity fell in 14 of the top 20 U.S. metropolitan areas in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, even though total U.S. foreclosures rose, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

Foreclosure activity fell in 14 of the top 20 U.S. metropolitan areas in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, even though total U.S. foreclosures rose, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.

U.S. mortgage foreclosure filings dropped for a second straight month in February, and notched the smallest annual increase in four years as housing-rescue efforts contained activity, a report released on Thursday showed.

U.S. mortgage foreclosure filings dropped for a second straight month in February, and notched the smallest annual increase in four years as housing-rescue efforts contained activity, a report released on Thursday showed.