Zombie Apocalypse for the Housing Market?

As if the shadow inventory weren’t menace enough, now the housing industry faces another threat straight out of a grade B horror flick: the zombie inventory. Those houses trapped in limbo when banks issue foreclosure notices but don’t follow through account for nearly...

Big Banks: Still Behaving Badly?

In spite of settlements, sanctions and suits, the nation’s large mortgage lenders still face more legal actions over fraud, duplicity and failed oversight of lending practices -- with effects not just on individual mortgage holders but also on large investors and...

Women Make Their Mark in the Market

Among the many explanations for the upswing in the housing market in general, and the expanding rental market in particular, the shifting demographics of American society take center stage. And as current population studies reveal, it’s women – young, old, and all...

When Demographics Collide: A New Housing Crisis?

The landscape of American society continues to shift, with large numbers of the so-called baby boom generation headed toward retirement and minority populations becoming the majority in many areas.As these and other subsets of the US population intersect in various...

Software Tools Support Entrepreneurs

People become entrepreneurs because they want the freedom of calling their own shots. But keeping up with all the aspects of an investing enterprise or other new business can be daunting. That’s why investors and mall business owners are inundated with advertising for...

New Shadows Threaten the Housing Recovery?

Most anyone following news of the housing industry’s progress out of the 2008 collapse now knows about the shadow inventory of foreclosed homes being held back from the market. Now, according to reports by DataQuick and Altos Research, a new shadow looms, threatening...

Is Federal Intervention Creating More Foreclosures?

For a number of years, federal interventions have affected the housing market’s recovery from its collapse of a few years ago. By buying up mortgage-backed securities and selling off lots of foreclosed homes, the government has aimed to stimulate growth and bail out...

Who Are the Investors Today?

In the years following the historic housing collapse of 2008, "investors" have been alternately blamed and praised for their contributions to the emerging recovery from that mortgage meltdown. But the term "investor" is a catch-all that can encompass a wide range of...

Is the Housing Market Heating Up?

After the historic collapse of a few years ago, the housing market has been on a slow rebound marked by increases in new home starts and demand for a limited supply of available houses. Now, a new survey reported in Business Insider offers evidence that the US housing...

Strategic Defaulters: Boosting the Housing Recovery?

p>Not all mortgage defaults are created equal. That’s the conclusion of major mortgage lenders, who are opening their doors to a special subset of the distressed homeowners crushed by the housing collapse of 2008. These “strategic defaulters” who walked away from...