(MCT)—Andreea Stucker thought she made a good investment when she bought a Huntington Beach, Calif., condo with her boyfriend in December 2005. But then she and her boyfriend split up.

Consumer attitudes toward the economy and housing continue to diverge this winter, according to Fannie Mae’s February 2013 National Housing Survey results. On the one hand, consumers continue to express strong

The American Securitization Forum has detailed possible ways regulators could merge mortgage-backed securities offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in order to close the pricing gap between the two. The market discounts Freddie securities on the belief these bonds prepay faster because of differences in underwriting and other guidelines. The government-sponsored enterprises always held smaller market share compared to its twin Fannie,

(eM+C)—There's no denying that social media has taken the world by storm. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter boast millions of users. Social media is a huge engagement, staffing, retention and, increasingly, branding tool.

The housing recovery is expected to grow at an annualized rate of 0.6 percent through the third quarter of this year, then gain momentum and prices are projected to grow 3.7 percent between the third quarters of 2013 and 2014 until settling down to 3.3 percent annual increases over the next three years according to Fiserv, a financial services technology provider using data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Both home prices and home sales volumes increased steadily last year, making 2012 the first positive year for both prices and sales since the housing market crash, excluding gains induced by the home buyer tax credits in 2009

Clear Capital recently released its Home Data Index(TM) (HDI) Market Report with data through February 2013. Using a broad array of public and proprietary data sources, the HDI Market Report publishes the most granular home data

Price and proximity to work are key concerns for first-time home buyers, while trade-up buyers tend to be most focused on the design of the home and the neighborhood, according to “Characteristics of Home Buyers,”

Homeowners looking for the most return on their investment when it comes to remodeling should consider exterior replacement projects. According to the 2013 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, REALTORS® rated exterior projects among the most valuable home improvement projects. “REALTORS® know that curb appeal projects offer great bang for your buck, because a home’s exterior is the first thing potential buyers see,”

“Online video is the next big thing,” says Stacie Staub of LIVE Urban Real Estate. Read on to learn Staub’s tech tips, plus how she stays motivated and connected.

Many in the housing industry are wondering not only what today’s home buyers really want, but also what they are ready to leave behind in light of current economic realities. A new study recently released by NAHB, What Home Buyers Really Want, was designed to answer these questions, and more specifically, to provide the most current and accurate information on buyer preferences so that NAHB members can deliver the home (and community) that today’s buyers want and are willing to pay for. So what do home buyers really want? The first answer is energy efficiency. Four of the top most wanted features involve saving energy: 94 percent of home buyers want energy-star

Sometimes it takes a 30-year industry veteran to have the clearest vision into the next 30 years of the industry. It’s no surprise to Sherry Chris, president and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate LLC, that home buying trends, consumer characteristics and needs, along with marketing and communication strategies surrounding the real estate market have evolved with exponential speed in the last few years. Chris has been an innovator within the real estate industry throughout her three-decade career

Take a moment to consider some of today’s largest, most recognizable companies—“some of them may not be around after the next several years,” says G. Michael Maddock, CEO of Maddock Douglas,

It seems our society has turned dodging responsibility into an art form. From celebrities who insist that a brush with the law was all a big misunderstanding to political figures

Data through December 2012, released this week by S&P Dow Jones Indices for its S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, showed that all three headline composites ended the year with strong gains. The national composite posted an increase of 7.3 percent for 2012. The 10- and 20-City Composites reported annual returns of 5.9 percent and 6.8 percent in 2012. Month over- month, both the 10- and 20-City Composites moved into positive territory with gains of 0.2%; more than reversing last month’s losses. In addition to the three composites, nineteen of the 20 MSAs posted positive year-over-year growth – only New York fell.

Recently, RISMedia and the Top 5 in Real Estate Network have announced a new addition to the Top 5 program: the inclusion of some of the best real estate speakers in the industry coming together to provide better content,