housing crisis

Buried Under Student Loan Debt? The Government Is Here to Help

To solve the student-loan crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is asking the public for their ideas. Aside from the personal pain caused by a mountain of student debt, the CFPB wants to head off the possibility of another financial crisis just like the housing bust.

Treasury Tightens Up Terms of Fannie and Freddie Bailout Deal

The government is changing the terms of its bailout agreement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a way that will shrink the holdings of the two mortgage giants more quickly and will require payment to the government of all quarterly profits the companies earn.

No Bottom in Sight: Home Prices Set Post-Crisis Lows

Just when it looked like housing prices were bottoming out and now was the time to snap up the best bargains comes news that may make you want to wait. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices show that real estate prices are continuing to descend.

Economists Assess Nation's Financial Fitness, Job Picture

Economists discussing the sluggish state of the economy at a media breakfast held by the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants this week, offered up a variety of explanations for the lasting economic malaise, ranging from the housing crisis fallout to structural unemployment.

America's 10 Poorest Suburbs

Poverty has been rising even faster in the suburbs than it has in cities -- about five times faster, according to the Brookings Institute. To help understand this phenomenon, 24/7 Wall St. has analyzed the 10 metropolitan areas with the highest rates of poverty in their suburbs.

Top 5 U.S. Housing Markets in 2012

With the Standard & Poor's downgrades, the declining stock market, the flat employment figures and Europe's fiscal woes, you might not expect much optimism in the housing market just now. But a few major metropolitan areas should see price increases in the next year, according to a new report.

New Business for Big Banks: Slumlording

The nation's biggest bailed-out banks have unintentionally entered a new line of work: slumlording. In some cases, major banks have created whole neighborhoods of abandoned and deteriorating foreclosure properties -- and a blight on local municipalities.

Unemployed and Seeking Shelter from the Storm

The housing crisis continues unabated, and millions of unemployed Americans remain at risk of ending up homeless. But additional government help is arriving from the Obama administration, and nonprofit agencies are making a difference in the efforts of some families to get help from their lenders.

Financial Landscape: Dreary Polls and Tax Loopholes

Nearly 90% of Americans still see owning a home as a key part of the American Dream, but 39% see us in a permanent economic downturn. Meanwhile, Obama has set his sights on closing tax loopholes for businesses and the rich, but the Fed just cut banks a break in new rules on debit card swipe fees.

Relief for Homeowners in Mortgage Mess Settlement?

Will homeowners see a penny of the reimbursements that the government has ordered 16 mortgage lenders to pay? Not likely, foreclosure victims and housing activists say, because the independent review ordered by regulators is too weak.

Why Foreclosures Could Be Set to Rise Again

Lender processing delays reduced the number of U.S. homes taken back by banks in the first three months of the year. But new data suggests foreclosure activity may be starting to creep higher, as lenders make progress tackling a backlog of pending foreclosure cases.

Recession Lingers On in Silicon Valley

Much has been made recently of the huge valuations of Internet players like Facebook, Twitter and Zynga, but while Web 2.0 is doing well, the Silicon Valley region itself is not. A new report shows compensation and unemployment in the region haven't improved since the downturn.

Housing's Long and Winding Road to Recovery

While home prices were falling last fall nearly nationwide, the pace of sales has picked up more recently. Overall, it seems clear that the worst of the housing debacle has passed. It's just that the U.S. remains on a slow, grinding track back to housing health.

Foreclosures: Will 2011 Be as Bad as Last Year?

2010 was an especially tough year for homeowners, according to a year-end report from RealtyTrac. Many foreclosure proceedings, however, were stopped late in the year, which means that as many as a quarter million foreclosure filings could be added to the data in early 2011.

QE2 Continues: Fed Finds Some Economic Improvement

The U.S. economy has strengthened, but not enough for the government to pare down its bond-buying program, according to the latest Fed minutes. In late 2010, investments rose and the job market improved -- but the housing market remained depressed.

November Home Sales Take Small Step Forward

Housing remains in a slow, but uncertain recovery, as existing-home sales increased a less-than-expected 5.6% last month, to a 4.68-million-unit annual rate. At least, home sales rose in every U.S. region, and inventories fell.

U.S. Mortgage Rates Reach a Seven-Month High

U.S. mortgage rates have grown for five straight weeks, in the last week hitting their highest levels in seven months. Ten-year Treasury note yields have been climbing on inflation concerns, driving the higher rates.

Home Repossessions Dive Amid Foreclosure Freezes

The number of homes taken back by banks fell sharply in November As lenders work to resolve claims of botched paperwork. But even with the decline, the total number of repossessions so far this year leaped to more than 980,000.

A Florida Housing Development Stalls, and the Cows Move In

Jerilee Wei never expected to be living next to a cow pasture when she bought her home in Lakeland, Fla., in 2007. In her upscale community, newly constructed houses were selling for between $300,000 and $425,000. Then one morning she woke up and found some cattle had moved in.

How the Housing Mess Hit My Neighborhood

Millions of houses are in foreclosure in the U.S. Even if your house is safe, your neighbors may be in trouble, and your neighborhood could suffer as a result. Here's the story of one house in a neighborhood in New Jersey.

Ireland's Austerity Budget:
Not Likely to Avoid Default

Simply put, the losses Irish taxpayers will be forced to cover are larger than the nation's economy can support, even with the promised bailout. The EU and Irish political leadership's attempts to put a brave face on the crisis is no match for this crippling burden.

The Housing Mess Hits One New York Town Hard

In some parts of the U.S., the real estate market remains deep in recession. But even with housing prices sitting at multi-year lows, millions of houses remain empty, unable to attract buyers haunted by unemployment and a weak economy. As part of a new series, DailyFinance takes a look at one town near New York City that is still struggling with the effects of the great real estate bust.

Foreclosure Sales and Prices Plunged This Summer

Home sales tumbled this summer, and foreclosed properties bore the brunt of the pain. Sales of foreclosed homes plunged 31% from the year-ago period -- and 25% from the previous quarter. Prices for these properties also fell more than other homes.

Will Property Taxes Really Escape the Downturn?

A recent Fed working paper happily points out that even as other sources of municipal tax revenue have plummeted, property taxes have held fairly steady, and the authors expect that to continue. Unfortunately, their optimistic prediction ignores the bigger picture.

Startup RentJuice Is Capitalizing on the Rise of Renter Nation

For years, the property management business has been stuck in the Dark Ages -- using faxes, paper ledgers and out-of-date spreadsheet software. But as the foreclosure crisis adds millions of people to the rental market, new startup RentJuice is aiming to bring property management into the Internet Age.

Jury Rejects Bank's 'Meltdown Defense' in Fraud Case

In a case with wider implications for the financial industry, jurors in a class-action securities fraud suit found that BankAtlantic Bankcorp was liable to shareholders for about $42 million for making false statements about the bank's real estate portfolio and net income.