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Housing Headlines

Housing Headlines

USA Today (AP)

West pushes up sales of new homes in February

U.S. homebuyers in the West accounted for all of February's increase in sales of new houses, possibly signaling uncertain growth prospects for the broader real estate market heading into the spring buying season.

USA Today

Blame owners, not builders, for housing crunch

Gridlock in the housing market that's slowing both first-time home purchases and trade-ups to better units is the chief reason for a persistent housing shortage, according to a new study.

The Fiscal Times

The most and least affordable places for first-time homebuyers in 2016

Housing in four U.S. counties is so unaffordable that first-time homebuyers would have to spend more than 100 percent of their income to cover their mortgage payment each month.

 

The Wall Street Journal

More Americans are again moving to suburbs than cities

Economists to real-estate agents have debated whether the housing boom and bust of the last decade has dramatically remade the way Americans live or merely created a temporary disruption.

USA Today

Study: Millennials really want homes, but are waiting ... for now

They're graduating from college, starting new jobs, getting married and having kids. But one life goal that's eluding a lot of Millennials is homeownership, according to a new NerdWallet analysis.

The Wall Street Journal

Rent-to-own homes make a comeback

Wall Street firms have found a new way to profit from consumers with blemished credit who can't qualify for a mortgage: let them rent a home first with the option to buy it later. (Subscription may be required.) 

MarketWatch

Existing home sales plunge 7.1% to a 3-month low in February

Existing-home sales plummeted 7.1% in February, pointing to ongoing rockiness in a housing market struggling to find its footing.

 

The Washington Post

Fannie and Freddie: If you can't kill them, merge them?

A group including some of the chief architects of the Obama administration's housing policy released a paper Wednesday outlining a new proposal for how to deal with mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

MarketWatch

This plan to overhaul Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac just might pass Congress

By many measures, the housing market is doing just fine. Home prices have largely recovered from the bust, lenders have tightened standards to avoid the risky behavior that caused it, and most Americans view homeownership as – surprise – a process of owning a home, not a get-rich-quick scheme.

The Wall Street Journal

Fannie, Freddie to cut mortgage balances for thousands of homeowners 

Thousands of homeowners will be eligible to have their mortgage balances cut under a plan approved by the federal regulator of mortgage-finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to people familiar with the matter. (Subscription may be required.)