Headlines

The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on January 21 on whether or not "disparate impact" claims are allowed under the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The case scheduled to be heard later this month, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, et al., v. The Inclusive Community Project, Inc., centers on claims that the Texas state housing department's fixed criteria for approving tax credits for low-income housing developers resulted in the approval of such credits for a larger percentage of developers in areas more heavily populated by minorities than in areas more populated by whites.

California-based real estate software applications provider RES.NET has added customized technology services to its suite of products, according to an announcement from the company.

Improvements in economic fundamentals, notably employment growth among millennials, will fuel significant increases in home sales and housing starts and a modest rise in home prices in 2015, according to CoreLogic's 2015 Housing Outlook released earlier this week. Sam Khater, deputy chief economist for CoreLogic, predicted an increase of 9 percent in home sales and a 14 percent spike in housing starts for the coming year in the report.

Matt Martin Real Estate Management (MMREM), a diversified real estate services firm headquartered in North Texas, announced it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire online real estate auction company RealtyBid.com.

Just before Christmas, President Barack Obama signed into law H.B. 5771, known as the Tax Increase Prevention Act of 2014, which retroactively extended 55 tax provisions – including one that provides distressed homeowners relief on forgiven mortgage debt. The bill ...

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index increased to 92.6 in December from its November reading of 91.0, according to the latest monthly Consumer Confidence Survey released Tuesday.

The nation's foreclosure inventory fell to its lowest level in almost seven years in November, but the percentage of delinquent mortgage loans is on the rise, according to Black Knight Financial Services' November 2014 "First Look" at Mortgage Data.

November's mortgage default risk index was reported at 11.69 percent, its highest level in two years, according to a briefing released by the American Enterprise Institute's International Center on Housing Risk. The November default risk index crept upward by 0.4 percentage points from October, when it was reported at 11.29 percent.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has approved the merger application for the Federal Home Loan Banks of Des Moines and Seattle that was submitted on October 31, 2014, according to a press release. The historic voluntary merger between two FHLBanks is subject to satisfaction of specific closing conditions the FHFA approval letter set forth, including the receipt of approvals by members of both the Des Moines and Seattle Banks.

Real estate investment trust Redwood Trust, Inc., announced the addition of former Fannie Mae executive Karen R. Pallotta to the company's board of directors.