Local governments are scrambling to deal with the rising number of vacant properties that strain city services and soon may take a toll on property-tax revenue.

Up until now, state efforts to help distressed homeowners refinance have had negligible results. A new federal bill may give them additional tools.

Many investors who purchased condo hotel rooms during the real-estate boom are wishing they hadn't. Some frustrated owners are bringing these projects to the attention of regulators.

Before you redo your home make sure you know how big a renovation you can afford and how long you will remain in your residence.

Local governments are acting more aggressively to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, frustrated by what they view as the federal government's inadequate response to the mortgage crisis.

Lenders that make loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration are adding costs and restrictions that make those mortgages more expensive for consumers and less widely available.

In a backlash against vinyl-clad McMansions developers are creating communities with houses that look like they were built centuries ago, but with modern trappings.

Italian businessman Luigi Zunino who is in contract to buy an apartment at New York's Plaza condominium, is already seeking someone to pay $100 million for it, people familiar with the matter say.

Key legislators agreed on a $15 billion bipartisan plan to spur the housing market, showing how political momentum is shifting toward a more aggressive response to the struggling real-estate market.

Bankruptcy investigators will look for evidence that the big mortgage lender has systematically abused borrowers.

We sought help from professional window-treatment services for valences, cornices and shades. We share the results.

Money's Worth looks at luxury houses on the market in Michigan, Arizona and California.

It's not always easy to get an accurate sense of how many foreclosures there actually are and which U.S. locales are the hardest hit. June Fletcher explains why.

Democrats and Republicans agreed to negotiate on a housing bill that could potentially allow for an injection of federal dollars into the distressed real estate market.

The government-sponsored provider of funding for home loans told lenders it will require a minimum credit score of 580 for most mortgages it buys on an individual basis.

Long insulated from the gale-force winds buffeting most U.S. housing markets, the New York City market is showing signs of softening just as Wall Street layoffs could put a further damper on demand.

As the falling real-estate and stock markets erode their savings, many people are delaying retirement, electing labor over leisure in uncertain times.

In this week's survey of news from across the Web, Open House looks at foreclosure bus tours in Northern Virginia, why real-estate investors are buying in bulk in Detroit, tips for purchasing apartments with good resale potential, and drawbacks to renting out your home.

Shelters and animal rescue organizations across the country are packed with pets that have been abandoned as scores of foreclosed-upon homeowners relocate.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said he is stepping down April 18, a decision that deals a blow to the Bush administration's efforts to tackle the housing and mortgage mess.