(MCT)—The lower-than-expected annualized growth rate of 2.8 percent reported Friday for the final three months of 2011 raises doubts about the strength of the U.S. recovery, and concerns that 2012 may be another year of muddling along.

Most mainstream economists …

Mortgage originations plunged 10.1 percent from November to December, continuing a decline from 2011’s September peak. At the same time, loans originated over the last two years have proved to be some of the best quality originations on record.

New …

Despite a challenging real estate market, the industry’s leading residential brokerage firms continue to demonstrate resiliency and growth, and will prove this by participating in RISMedia’s 24th Annual Power Broker Report & Survey. As the industry’s preeminent report ranking the …

Regional Spotlight—Investors with cash continued to reap a harvest of bargain-priced bank-owned and short sale properties across the San Francisco Bay Area in the fourth quarter of 2011, sparking a slight uptick in home sales compared with the same period …

While you may not always get what you want, you will almost always get what you expect. Surprisingly, the power of belief and expectation work just as effectively on your feelings of self-doubt and limitation as they do on your …

(MCT)—The Obama administration’s new effort to investigate the causes of the nation’s mortgage meltdown will focus on coordinating the often overlapping state and federal investigations and on holding accountable those whose misconduct led to the global financial crisis.

A team …

Low interest rates, as we all know, are making history. Last week, according to an article found on CNNMoney, “rates on both the 30-year and 15-year fixed loans fell to new records, at 3.89 percent and 3.16 percent, respectively, according …

Remodeling sentiment rose to the highest level in five years, according to the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Remodeling Market Index (RMI) for the fourth quarter of 2011. Released yesterday, the RMI increased to 46.6 in the fourth quarter …

In his recent State of the Union speech, President Obama announced he will push for legislation that will significantly expand the newly revised HARP program that allows underwater homeowners to refinance at today’s historically low rates.

Obama’s expansion would allow …

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) commends President Obama for offering proposals in the recent State of the Union address to help families stay in their homes and stanch foreclosures, and is urging policymakers to take additional actions to …

The end of 2011 brought good news on the nation’s economic front, with unemployment in December falling to its lowest level in three years and the economy adding 200,000 jobs during the same month.

Dave Liniger, chairman and co-founder of …

HouseLogic.com, a comprehensive website about all aspects of homeownership from the National Association of REALTORS®, has launched a new online sweepstakes. Readers who leave comments on a blog featured at the site will have a chance to win a $100 …

If being connected 24/7 was supposed to make our lives easier, the business world didn’t get the memo. Most American professionals just can’t shake the end-of-the-day feeling that they didn’t get enough done. So day after day, they find themselves …

In another sign that investors are more important to residential real estate markets than ever, nearly one out of three home sales in December went to buyers who paid all cash.

In fact, so many investors are winning sales with …

A caller from Manhattan talks about the complete turnaround that Harlem has experienced over the past 10 years. Now he wants to find the next city poised for gentrification. Is Detroit the next turnout city? Greg Rand (@gsrand), …

Regional Spotlight—Miami home sales set a new record in 2011, exceeding transaction levels during the height of the real estate boom in 2005, according to the 26,000-member MIAMI Association of REALTORS® and the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service (SEFMLS). Total …

Obeo, a leading provider of online real estate virtual tours and real estate in North America, announced a new search engine optimization (SEO) feature to help brokers and agents win the battle for their listings.

Studies show that 96 percent …

Regional Spotlight—RE/MAX of New England recently released their 2012 Housing Market Outlook & Forecast.

According to the study, Connecticut experienced the largest declines in 2011, as single-family home transactions slid -8.4 percent and average price dipped -1.8 percent, compared to …

Agents, have you ever listed or sold a home owned by a celebrity? If so, we want to know about it! RISMedia is excited to announce that in 2012 we will be significantly expanding our coverage of celebrity homes and …

Freddie Mac recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey®, showing mortgage rates easing to new all-time record lows for all products covered in the survey helping to keep homebuyer affordability high. The average for the 30-year fixed…

We all know that Google is no stranger to the world of mobile, after all its operating system, Android, is the most popular in the world; all their apps (Gmail, Google calendar, flicker, etc.) are all designed for use on …

Real estate auction activity continues to thrive. In today’s tumultuous economy, both residential and commercial properties are selling in droves via auction.

According to PropertyAuction.com, the number of auctions posted on their site has almost doubled in 2011. From January…

By an overwhelming margin, American voters strongly value homeownership and would oppose efforts to weaken or eliminate the mortgage interest deduction or diminish a federal role to help qualified home buyers obtain affordable 30-year mortgages, according to a new nationwide…

Total U.S. foreclosure activity and the U.S. foreclosure rate in 2011 were both at their lowest annual level since 2007, according to RealtyTrac®, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties. The company recently released its Year-End 2011 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™,…

The WAV Group, a real estate consulting firm, has published results of research that demonstrates the high value consumers place on the term “MLS.” The research, commissioned by the MLS Domains Association, includes surveys of consumers using MLS public…

The federal government recently threw a lifeline to homeowners underwater with their current mortgages. Thanks to new changes to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) guidelines, more homeowners can refinance at today’s lower rates—even if their homes have declined…

In support of Google’s Go Mo initiative, Mobile Real Estate (MRE), a leading mobile solutions provider, has launched a free online tool that allows REALTORS® to test their website to ensure it is optimized for mobile. When Google launched its …

The U.S. housing market will continue a slow recovery in 2012, led by stabilizing home prices and increasing sales. Those are among the key findings of a year-end survey of one thousand RE/MAX real estate agents who say housing’s vital…

The number of housing markets showing measurable improvement nearly doubled in January with the addition of 40 new metros to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index (IMI).

The IMI now boasts 76 improving markets, up from…

Home prices this year cease their decline and gain 0.2 percent across all markets as more and more individual markets stabilize in the months to come.

However, though national prices will be flat, some 40 percent of the top 50…