(MCT)—The lower-than-expected annualized growth rate of 2.8 percent reported Friday for the final three months of 2011 raises doubts about the strength of the U.S. recovery, and concerns that 2012 may be another year of muddling along.

Most mainstream economists …

Mortgage originations plunged 10.1 percent from November to December, continuing a decline from 2011’s September peak. At the same time, loans originated over the last two years have proved to be some of the best quality originations on record.

New …

Regional Spotlight—Investors with cash continued to reap a harvest of bargain-priced bank-owned and short sale properties across the San Francisco Bay Area in the fourth quarter of 2011, sparking a slight uptick in home sales compared with the same period …

While you may not always get what you want, you will almost always get what you expect. Surprisingly, the power of belief and expectation work just as effectively on your feelings of self-doubt and limitation as they do on your …

(MCT)—The Obama administration’s new effort to investigate the causes of the nation’s mortgage meltdown will focus on coordinating the often overlapping state and federal investigations and on holding accountable those whose misconduct led to the global financial crisis.

A team …

Low interest rates, as we all know, are making history. Last week, according to an article found on CNNMoney, “rates on both the 30-year and 15-year fixed loans fell to new records, at 3.89 percent and 3.16 percent, respectively, according …

Remodeling sentiment rose to the highest level in five years, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the fourth quarter of 2011. Released yesterday, the RMI increased to 46.6 in the fourth quarter …

In his recent State of the Union speech, President Obama announced he will push for legislation that will significantly expand the newly revised HARP program that allows underwater homeowners to refinance at today’s historically low rates.

Obama’s expansion would allow …

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) commends President Obama for offering proposals in the recent State of the Union address to help families stay in their homes and stanch foreclosures, and is urging policymakers to take additional actions to …

The end of 2011 brought good news on the nation’s economic front, with unemployment in December falling to its lowest level in three years and the economy adding 200,000 jobs during the same month.

Dave Liniger, chairman and co-founder of …

HouseLogic.com, a comprehensive website about all aspects of homeownership from the National Association of REALTORS®, has launched a new online sweepstakes. Readers who leave comments on a blog featured at the site will have a chance to win a $100 …

If being connected 24/7 was supposed to make our lives easier, the business world didn’t get the memo. Most American professionals just can’t shake the end-of-the-day feeling that they didn’t get enough done. So day after day, they find themselves …

In another sign that investors are more important to residential real estate markets than ever, nearly one out of three home sales in December went to buyers who paid all cash.

In fact, so many investors are winning sales with …

A caller from Manhattan talks about the complete turnaround that Harlem has experienced over the past 10 years. Now he wants to find the next city poised for gentrification. Is Detroit the next turnout city? Greg Rand (@gsrand), …

Regional Spotlight—Miami home sales set a new record in 2011, exceeding transaction levels during the height of the real estate boom in 2005, according to the 26,000-member MIAMI Association of REALTORS® and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS). Total …

While 2011 was clearly a challenging year, there is a lot to be positive about looking ahead. Economically, while buffeted by natural disasters and fiscal policy indecisiveness at home and a European sovereign debt crisis abroad, the U.S. economy was …

Recently, Acting Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Carol J. Galante announced the latest in a series of steps to protect and strengthen the FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, while enabling the agency to continue to fulfill its mission to provide …

Don’t blame the real estate appraiser if it turns out that house you’re trying to sell or buy isn’t worth what you thought it was. That was the message delivered recently by the Appraisal Institute, one of the nation’s largest …

“Cautiously optimistic” might be the best description of the feelings of members of Midwest Real Estate Data’s Board of Managers for the upcoming year in real estate. Most think we may have “hit bottom” in the difficult last few years …

According to the monthly RE/MAX housing report, December home sales did not follow the seasonal trend but rose an unexpected 5.7 percent from sales in November. Sales were also up 1.1 percent from December 2010, the 6th consecutive month to …

More Americans are paying more of their health care costs out of pocket every year because they lack insurance, have higher deductibles and co-payments, or have chosen a Health Savings Account plan.

There are ways they can save money without …