Home prices fell to their lowest point in more than a decade in January, but that helped to lift the pace of home sales, according to a report from an industry trade group.
Millions of borrowers who suffered financial losses because their mortgage lenders played fast and loose while processing their foreclosures now have two ways of getting a payback.
The mortgage meltdown that began five years ago appears to be reversing course as the percentage of loans that fell into delinquency slowly returned to normal rates and fewer loans fell into foreclosure.
New home construction got off to a strong start for the year, with housing starts and building permits rising in January on a monthly and annual basis -- another sign that the U.S. housing market and broader economy are headed in the right direction.
Laurie Goodman is an apolitical number cruncher who has spent most of her 28-year career out of the public view, studying the minutiae of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) for big investment banks. She's long been a star among Wall Street insiders, however. She holds the record for the most top rankings for fixed-in-come research from the trade bible Institutional Investor.
