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The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently released its third annual report on guarantee fees (g-fees) charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises), concluding that the average “g-fee” on single-family mortgages increased in 2010 relative to 2009, from 22 basis points to 26 basis points. The report finds that the Enterprises’ g-fees continued to convey cross-subsidies from mortgages that posed lower credit risk, on average, to loans that posed higher credit risk, but overall that cross-subsidization was substantially less in 2009 and 2010 than in 2007 or 2008.

The home price picture for this year is shaping up to be a little better than it looked in June, according to the September 2011 home price expectations survey of 111 leading housing economists and experts sponsored by MacroMarkets LLC. With just three months to go, the average prediction for the price decline this year from last year’s levels improved from a 3.52 percent price decline predicted by the experts in June to 2.53 percent in the latest survey. The survey is based upon the projected path of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index over the coming five years.

Nationwide housing starts declined 5.0 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 571,000 units in August, according to figures recently released by the U.S. Commerce Department. The decline was primarily on the more volatile multifamily side, with single-family housing production edging down

If the housing market were human, it would look like it just wrestled a few alligators after running an obstacle course through a snake pit. The market is beaten and bruised, but still emerging from the recession, which is why Greg Rand, a real estate veteran and author of Crash Boom! from Career Press, wants people to know about five new trends that could help them beat the housing blues. "The market is made up of buyers and sellers," Rand says. "It's just people who are trying to figure out how to buy low and sell high. The secret to making sure your real estate doesn't turn into a money pit is to watch the trends so you can predict where the prices will rise and where they won't."

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes dipped by a single point to 14 on the recently released National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for September. The index has now held between 13 and 16 for six consecutive months.

This week, Greg Rand (@gsrand) , CEO of OwnAmerica hosts Rand on Real Estate on 770 WABC, discusses with Ed Forman the benefits, industries, economics and real estate market of Jacksonville, Florida.

With the Oct. 1 deadline rapidly approaching when the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will be lowered, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently called on Congress to move swiftly to extend the current loan limits to prevent further damage to the already fragile housing market and lackluster economy.

Homeowners are growing even more pessimistic about the potential short- and long-term values of their homes. ...

Household debt declined by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.6%, dragged lower by a 2.4% decline in mortgage debt as consumers took out fewer mortgages, paid off or had debts forgiven, the Federal Reserve reported in its voluminous flow-of-funds report. Consumer credit outside mortgages rose by 3.4%. Owners had 38.6% of the equity in their houses—unchanged from the first quarter but well below the 49.5% of 2007 as the housing market began to tumble. Household real estate was worth $16.18 trillion, a 0.4% dip from the first quarter but about 29% lower than the peak in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Fannie Mae (FNMA/OTC) recently announced Servicer Total Achievement and Rewards (STAR) Program results for the first half of 2011, measuring the performance of servicers in helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Millions of homeowners share a feeling of helplessness, not knowing where they stand with their bank and not understanding the foreclosure process. A new resource called the Foreclosure Defense Academy aims to rescue these homeowners from their information abyss, beginning with an educational webinar scheduled Sept. 22 – 24, when a national audience will learn how to navigate their own foreclosure situation even if they can’t afford legal representation.

Mortgage applications increased 6.3 percent from one week earlier, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending September 9, 2011. This week’s results include an adjustment to account

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT—The summer home sales season in the Washington, D.C. metro area market finished with the highest number of signed contracts for August in four years, according to housing market expert Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel.

Realogy Corporation, a leading provider of real estate and relocation services, announced that Richard A. Smith, its president and CEO, has been called upon to testify before the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development

Seventy five percent of all homeowners who owe more on their homes than they are worth are paying mortgage interest rates nearly a point higher than today’s average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage.