The goal, the administration said, is to stabilize neighborhoods where large supplies of empty, foreclosed properties have hurt property values. In addition, the plan is an effort to clear the nation’s balance sheet of real estate holdings that, because they have been difficult to sell individually, have hung over the housing market and stunted sales of existing homes and new construction.

Read More:  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/11/business/us-seeks-to-rent-out-its-foreclosures.html?_r=3

Against the worst national economy in more than 60 years, the Austin area stands out as the best market in the nation.

That's the bottom line from Mark Sprague, an expert who follows the economy and housing markets both locally and nationally.

Read More: http://www.statesman.com/business/economist-austin-economy-keeps-outperforming-nations-as-a-1696191.html

The compromise legislation created an unusual mechanism — an evenly split, 12-member bipartisan supercommittee — that could call for major cutbacks on real estate write-offs by Thanksgiving.

Read More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/mortgage-tax-deductions-may-soon-be-in-play/2011/08/08/gIQARA60AJ_story.html

Could Texas law net someone a $300,000 house for filing a $16 fee online? Maybe. Kenneth Robinson told WFAA-TV he moved into the house on Waterford Drive on June 17 because it had the perfect storm: The home was abandoned for foreclosure, then the mortgage company that owned it went out of business. After researching a Texas law called “adverse possession,” Robinson moved in. It’s not a normal process, he admitted to WFAA-TV, but a process that is not known to many people.

Read More: http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2011/jul/18/squatter-claims-300000-flower-mound-home-only-16/