jumbo mortgages

The news about real estate isn't reassuring -- new mortgage delinquencies are rising and the federal government owns 46% of the nation's foreclosed homes. But some cities are seeing higher prices, even as others continue to fall.

With rate resets kicking in on a raft of exotic adjustable-rate loans, delinquencies on jumbo mortgages for high-end homes nearly tripled to 9.2% in December 2009 compared to the 3.2% rate December 2008. And the number of expensive homes on the market continues to rise.

BusinessWeek looks at 10 markets in California where housing demand has picked up of late, boosting prices off the lows we've seen in the past few months.One of the reasons demand has picked back up is California's $10,000 tax credit for buyers, on top of the $8,000 federal first time buyer credit....

Yes ... according to the National Association of Realtors in a new report.While interest rates have gone lower and lower for prime "conventional" mortgages, guaranteed by the FHA, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, there is no federal guarantor for the jumbo mortgage market. According to the NAR, "the...