Roland Li

Sheila Bair, former chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), is said to be the leading candidate to monitor banks during a nationwide foreclosure settlement.

A conversation with Rick Bell, executive director of the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., introduced on Thursday a bill to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and create a transitional mortgage program to be sold to the private sector after 10 years.

Real estate developer Forest City Enterprises reported a net loss of $41.9 million, or 25 cents per share, in the third quarter ending Oct. 31, down from $50.6 million, or 33 cents per share, loss in 2010.

New York City was named the most expensive U.S. commercial real estate market in a report by the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rate dropped to 3.99 percent in the week ending Dec. 8 from four percent in the previous week, according to Freddie Mac.

U.S. mortgage loan delinquencies are projected to decline to five percent by the end of 2012 from around six percent at the end of 2011, according to TransUnion.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have prevented almost 2 million foreclosures since the enterprises were taken under federal conservatorship in 2008, according to a report by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).

U.S. mortgage applications increased by 12.8 percent in the week ending Dec. 2, compared to the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

Bank of America agreed on Tuesday to pay $315 million to settle claims involving mortgage securities issued by Merrill Lynch.

Toll Brothers Inc., the largest U.S. luxury home builder, reported a net income of $15 million in the fiscal fourth quarter ending Oct. 31, or nine cents per diluted share, down from $50.5 million, or 30 cents per share, in 2010.

U.S. home prices fell 1.3 percent in October compared to the previous month, the third consecutive month of declines, according to CoreLogic.

Occupy Homes, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, will protest in foreclosed and vacant properties in around 25 U.S. cities on Tuesday's Day of Action, promoting what organizers call the basic human right of housing.

Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and board members of Second Mile, Jerry Sandusky's charity, partnered to develop a $125 million housing project, suggesting Paterno had close business ties with the group, reported the Daily.

Investment firm Beacon Capital Partners has closed on an investment in 195 Broadway in Lower Manhattan as part of a $280 million recapitalization of the property, according to city records.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority called an earlier New York Post story on Apple's new store at Grand Central inaccurate.

Facebook announced on Friday it would open an engineering office in Manhattan next year. The new branch will add space to the company's two floors at 333-335 Madison Avenue, near Grand Central.

In the wake of a lawsuit filed by the Massachusetts attorney general, GMAC Mortgage, a subsidiary of Ally Financial, said on Friday that it would stop buying mortgage loans in the state after Dec. 5.

The troubled Cooper Square Hotel in Manhattan's East Village has sold for $67.5 million, according to New York City records.

Officials from major New York property owners said 2011 office leasing activity was strong, despite broader economic concerns, in a panel at the Goldman Sachs Commercial Real Estate Symposium in Lower Manhattan on Thursday.

The Federal Housing Administration (FHA)'s mortgage insurance fund is threatened by declining home prices and could require a taxpayer bailout, Congress members said at a hearing on Thursday, echoing an earlier report.

Average rates for 30-year fixed-rate U.S. mortgages increased slightly to 4 percent from 3.98 percent in the week ending Dec. 1, according to Freddie Mac.

Brookfield Asset Management and tenants of Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village are making a bid to take over the massive apartment complex of over 11,000 units on Manhattan's east side.

Pending home sales increased 10.4 percent in October from the previous month, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), an encouraging sign for the housing market.

U.S. mortgage applications decreased on a seasonally adjusted basis by 11.7 percent in the week ending Nov. 25, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said in a report released on Tuesday that the regulator did not provide enough oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in mortgage repurchases, executive compensation and other transactions.

Down a stretch of cobblestone in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood, a historic cast-iron building encloses a modern interior. The building is 34 Greene Street, atop which is a massive two-level penthouse, currently on the market for $13.75 million.

The Malkin family, the New York landlords who own the Empire State Building, plan to file to become a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) in around three months, it said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

U.S. homeowners with mortgages worth more than the value of their homes decreased slightly in the third quarter, according to a report from CoreLogic.