Planetizen Newswire
Keep up with essential planning news and commentary, delivered to your inbox every Monday and Thursday.
Mortgages
Some areas of the country are experiencing stress in the housing market, according to the new CoreLogic "Loan Performance Insights" report, but overall it's a long-time since homeowners have been so stable.
The Dallas Morning News
Owning a home has long been considered the ultimate aspiration. But social and economic realities mean the stories about and the path to homeownership are not simple and straightforward.
Curbed
McMansion or not, the American home is a good 600 to 800 square feet larger than the average in most other countries. Possible reasons run the gamut from policy to culture to personal economics.
The Atlantic
A new service targeted at seniors buys homes, but lets the previous owner stay.
Slate
LendingTree ranks the most popular cities for Millennial homebuyers.
LendingTree
Against all odds, both political parties agree on at least one thing: the merits of homeownership. But is buying a home really such a great investment, even for the well-off?
Market Urbanism
The Dallas-Fort Worth area exemplifies a renewed faith in the housing market.
Dallas News
Low property values continue to stunt the comeback of Detroit—so the city and a group of banks have created a program to guarantee 1,000 mortgages in the city.
Detroit Free Press
After a long absence, first-time buyers are finally returning to the real estate market.
Bloomberg Business
Dina ElBoghdady and Dan Keating report on the state of the real estate market as it concerns the wealthiest Americans—times are good if you are wealthy and looking to borrow money to buy a home.
The Washington Post
Scott Beyer writes that despite changes to policies allowing insured mortgages by the Federal Housing Administration's (FHA), the federal government continues to obstruct density by limiting support for condo owners.
Governing
Laurie Goodman and Jun Zhu explain the complicated but critical controversy over the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) recent policy for sunsets on loan put-backs. At stake: the ongoing constraints on lending in the United States.
Housing Wire
As housing prices increase on the post-recession wave, many experts are asking people to reconsider the dream of buying and owning a home, especially if that means sinking too deeply in debt or sacrificing mobility.
CBC News
Blog post
If the market demand is there, why isn't more mixed-use housing getting built? Follow the money.
Although the Obama Administration has supported a reduced role for the government in supporting the housing market, it still backs 90 percent of newly issued mortgages - "more than ever before." A new report examines the prospect of a withdrawal.
The New York Times
A series of seemingly intractable obstacles stand in the way of transforming the housing and mortgage markets to reduce government involvement. Peter Eavis asks if a second term president is exactly the force needed to overcome such obstacles.
The New York Times
Amanda Erickson explains how communities could wield the power of eminent domain to rescue residents with "underwater" mortgages, by condemning homes and allowing owners to refinance their mortgages and pay a new, lower rate.
The Atlantic Cities
Starting in 2002, the Colorado legislature began to make it easier to foreclose on properties in Colorado. Original loan documents are no longer required to prove the bank actually owns the property.
The Denver Post
Data from the Census shows that 36.7% of U.S. households pay more than 30% of their pretax income on housing, an increase of 1.5 million since 2007.
The Wall St. Journal
The Wall St. Journal reports that some homeowners are selling their underwater homes at a loss and turning right around and investing in new homes with lower mortgage rates and getting more house in the process.
The Wall St. Journal
