The Census Bureau just released its massive tomb on housing data from 2000 to 2010, and as expected, the “Housing Characteristics” brief is a sweeping, detailed analysis of housing, offering both good and bad information on the embattled market.

In an ironic twist, Bank of America (BofA) is closing 40 mortgage offices and firing hundreds of workers at a time when mortgage interest rates are setting record lows. The firings come in the wake of recent news from

According to the most recent jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor, the economy added 103,000 jobs in September, and though markets reacted to the data in a lukewarm fashion, a true bright spot in the department’s findings

Mortgage rates have been on a steady decline the last couple months, and thanks to recent monetary action by the Federal Reserve, they hit all-time lows late last week, with the 30-year FRM shattering the 4 percent barrier and

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was on Capital Hill yesterday testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, and during his testimony made several faint mentions of pending housing programs and revisions from the Treasury Department. “We expect to move

As part of a wide-ranging effort to stimulate economic growth and job creation, Florida’s state legislature has repealed its 30-year growth management law, known as “Smart Growth.” Smart Growth had stipulated that local jurisdictions were to draft plans for

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced yesterday $28 million in grants – $125,000 of that due to a Miami organization – to fight and investigate housing discrimination and promote equal housing opportunities. Funded through the Fair Housing

CoreLogic released its latest Home Price Index (HPI), showing a slight decline in August by 0.4 percent that represents the first decline in four months. A tracker of home prices and contemporary to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller, the HPI

Lately, there hasn’t been much love for government loan mod programs. News has been swirling the past month that revisions are pending to the government’s underperforming loan modification programs, and sharp critiques have abound on the programs’ performance records.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the September edition of the White House’s “Housing Scorecard” yesterday, highlighting the positive trends in housing prices and refinancing options and other notable government initiatives. Raphael Bostic, a HUD

On Aug. 18, 2011, Freddie Mac released the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), reporting that 30-year fixed rate mortgages had reached a new low at 4.15 percent, surpassing the previous low of 4.17 percent from

The Miami-based luxury condominium and real estate sales and marketing company, Cervera Real Estate, recently launched a new Facebook application that allows users to search, view and share local home listings. The application was developed by SocialKandy, a Miami-based

Freddie Mac Senior Vice President Paul Mullings confronted negative perceptions on refinancing in a recent blog post, stating that refinancing by Freddie and other government agencies has saved homeowners not millions, but billions of dollars. “One thing I observed

Despite daily doses of apocalyptic news and forecasts, two prominent surveys on housing cut through the fog and show that even in a down market, housing remains a mainstay of the American Dream. The two surveys, one by Fannie

High-end buyers and first-timers propelled the Miami housing market in August, boosting sales by 9.3 percent from July and 25 percent from August 2010, according to new research by DataQuick. Homes on either side of the pricing spectrum were

After an off week, mortgage applications bounced back to life the third week of September, increasing 9.3 percent on the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) weekly study of the application market. Mike Fratantoni, the MBA’s vice president of research and