News Articles for Real Estate

Top News
Regulators seize Bank of Commerce in Wood Dale
Chicago Tribune - - Advantage National Bank Group, of Elk Grove Village, Ill., entered a purchase-and-assumption agreement with the FDIC to assume all of Bank of Commerce deposits. It brings the total number of U.S. failures this year to 26.
13% of all U.S. homes are vacant
CNN Money - - And it's only getting worse: The national vacancy rate crept up to just over 13% according to last week's decennial census report. That's up from 12.1% in 2007. "More vacant homes equal more downward pressure on home prices,"

Market News
Real Estate Weekly: Facing foreclosure? Head to YouTube
MarketWatch - - This week, Freddie Mac launched a series of YouTube videos aimed at debunking foreclosure myths for homeowners who are in danger of losing their homes. "Today we are utilizing a popular and powerful tool - YouTube - to
"Cash for Keys"
DSNews.com - - Bair is not the only official interested in different options for solving the foreclosure crisis, though. It has been widely circulated that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is not supportive of the 27-page
Four States Weigh Bills to Make Appraisers Disregard Foreclosures
National Mortgage News - - February, a slight gain from January, according to figures released Friday morning. Fitch Ratings will not return the title insurance industry's outlook to stable until it sees evidence of a return to sustainable profitability and surplus growth.

Technology News
Real Estate Web Site Traffic Jumps 27%
REALTOR Magazine - - Traffic to real estate Web sites increased 27 percent in February--the highest level since the first half of 2009. A bigger appetite for rentals has mostly driven the increase in real estate site traffic, according to a webinar by Experian Hitwise, in which it released its search tracking data.
Report: No iPhone 5 at Apple's Summer Conference
Wired News - - Apple has traditionally debuted new iPhones at its annual software developers conference, but this year's event in June will be 100-percent software news, according to a report. Citing anonymous tipsters

Other News
The 10 best cities for home buyers
CNN Money - - You better believe it -- the real estate market is back. It's time to buy again, and here are the 10 best cities for doing so, according to a new report from Deutsche Bank.
Florida law firm to pay $2 million to settle foreclosure fraud charges
Washington Post - - The firm of Marshall C. Watson will pay $2 million in penalties to settle a state investigation into alleged improprieties in their handling of foreclosures - the first deal of its kind since the uproar over the issue began last fall.
GMAC Mortgage joins program to help homeowners avoid foreclosure
Detroit News - - - Ally Financial Inc. said today it was participating in a Michigan program to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. The Detroit-based auto and home lender said its GMAC Mortgage subsidiary is taking part in Michigan's Hardest Hit program the