Freddie Mac has finalized requirements on a new “Standard Modification,” a loan modification program for delinquent homeowners who did not meet requirements for the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Officially launching in January, the new program will begin

The Market Composite Index, a study of mortgage loan application volume that is compiled by the Mortgage Bankers Association, rose 6.3 percent last week, bouncing back from a disappointing 4.9 percent decline the week before. Despite historically-low interest rates, mortgage

September is the National Association of Realtor’s “Realtor Safety Month,” and to coincide with the month, real estate website AgentGenius conducted surveys and interviews to assess Realtor safety in 2011. The site’s findings were both frightening and educational. Andrew

Continuing in its goal of creating universal lending documents for the mortgage industry, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has begun a fourth round of product testing this week, focusing on two different loans that appear on the same

According to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), the major delinquency rates for multifamily units fell in four of the five major investor groups, which includes FDIC-insured banks, life insurance providers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The rates

According to analysts at Barclays, a global financial services provider, the new housing plans recently announced by President Obama amount to a revamp of the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), not an all-out expansion. Fears over the President’s comments

New historically-low interest rates, positive builders indexes, and speculation and analysis of President Barack Obama’s housing policies were some of the top national stories this week on Chicago Agent magazine’s

Federal loan limits are set to decline on Oct. 1, and New York Congressman Gary Ackerman, along with 36 other lawmakers, is lobbying to stop that from

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) launched the First American Improving Market Index (IMI) today to track metropolitan regions showing significant signs of growth. This comes as good news to a housing industry that has become accustomed to

In a much-touted speech on the economy last night, President Barack Obama largely skipped the topic of housing, opting instead to comment what many had predicted: that the White House was looking to revise its “Home Affordable Refinance Program” to

The Multifamily Production Index (MPI), a statistic compiled by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) that measures multifamily unit construction, increased for the fourth consecutive quarter, another sign that the multifamily market is

So much for history – after reaching 50-year lows on Aug. 18, the 30-year FRM from Freddie Mac has hit a new historical low, this time reaching 4.12

President Obama is scheduled to address the nation tonight on the economy, and the real estate industry is filled with anticipation – apprehension, even – on what the President will say about housing, if anything at

Realtor University, a new online institution offering a Master of Real Estate, has named Richard J. Rosenthal its first Chairman of the Board of

After four years of negative job growth, the construction sector is experiencing positive gains in 2011, adding approximately 26,000 jobs to payrolls in 2011, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor

The U.S. government is soliciting ideas on how to responsibly unload the 248,000 foreclosed properties currently in its possession, a total that represents almost a third of the nation’s foreclosed