The trade group for real estate agents spent more than $3.7 million lobbying the federal government in the second quarter as it pressed for measures to aid the hobbled housing market.
The Chicago-based National Association of Realtors, a major lobbying player on Capitol Hill, pushed hard for the housing bill signed by President Bush last month, [...]

Alan Greenspan has definitely been keeping busy since retiring from the Federal Reserve; apparently he’s been strategizing ways to solve the housing crisis, among other things.
In the Capital column in today’s Wall Street Journal, he shares his thoughts on the real estate market and the housing bailout bill recently signed by President Bush. The column, [...]

The best part of the housing bill signed by President Bush on July 30 was the section that establishes new regulations for mortgage loan originators. The regulations require all mortgage originators to be screened, educated, tested and licensed. The law also created a national registry of loan originators. And it won’t cost the taxpayers a [...]

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston announced that 300,000 families have refinanced their mortgages with HUD’s affordable mortgage insurance program. Since September 2007, FHASecure - the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) refinancing product - has provided struggling families with expanded access to safe and affordable mortgage financing. FHA is on pace to [...]

The President signed the bill on July 30, 2008. The bill includes the following provisions:

GSE Reform - including a strong independent regulator, and permanent conforming loan limits up to the greater of $417,000 or 115% local area median home price, capped at $625,500. The effective date for reforms is immediate upon enactment, but the loan [...]

At the start of the year, James M. Weichert, president and founder of Weichert, Realtors(R), one of the nation’s largest privately-held real estate companies, called upon Congress to take action to stimulate the struggling economy amid growing national concern.
Specifically, Weichert proposed a tax credit for home buyers to rejuvenate the slowing housing market. A little [...]

A lifeline is on the way for thousands of Americans in danger of losing their homes. The President signed off on a giant rescue plan that will help the housing market in its worst slump since the depression. Sean and Maggie Carolan look like a mortgage broker’s dream.- perfect credit, good incomes, low debt, but [...]

President Bush is expected to sign a bill aimed at helping hundreds of thousands of struggling homeowners. The US Congress passed the measure during a rare Saturday session.
The bill authorizes government backed mortgages for borrowers facing foreclosure and provides new tax credits for first time home buyers. It also imposes new standards for brokers and [...]