Tucson Foreclosures, Short Sales, and Bank Owned Properties - If you want to know numbers that concern foreclosures, short sales, and bank owned properties in Tucson, you’ll want to check out this article over at Tucson Real Estate in the News. A thorough look at the market and the numbers.

Cracking Down on Mortgage Scammers - White collar crime at its scummiest. $1+ billion dollars in losses, and more than 400 people are suspects of fraud. The Feds will not let them off easy.

Home Prices Drop 15.8% - Home prices have dropped for the past 22 months. Prices will either drop even more or will stay the same, which in turn should create more buying activity from able buyers.

How The Housing Rescue Bill Can Help You -  With $300 Billion soon to be released for troubled homeowners, our nation will surely see a boost. In this time of trouble, read this article to see if you qualify for assistance.

The Senate has come together on a Saturday, and after hours of discussion they have passed the new housing bill that will offer up to $300 billion dollars in loans for troubled homeowners, and come to the rescue of Fannie and Freddie.

“This legislation won’t perform miracles. But as others have said, it’s a step - and I hope an important step - to putting our nation on the road to economic recovery,” said Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a principal author of the bill.

These are the benefits that this bill will provide:

• Increase the Federal Housing Administration’s role
• Establish a stronger regulator for the GSEs
• Permanently increase “conforming loan” limits
• Create home-buyer credit
• Bar down-payment assistance for FHA loans
• Create an affordable housing trust fund
• Give grants to states to buy foreclosed properties

New Home Sales Stronger Than Expected - Glad to be seeing this headline. This, by no means, is an indication that the real estate market is all healthy and sound, but I’m happy to be seeing a branch of real estate turning out to be positive while the rest of the market is hurting.

Mortgage Industry Grilled in Washington - Washington is probing mortgage lenders to see how much they’re working for the homeowner. Homeowners need to be taken care of, they’re the reasoning for our previously strong economy. I don’t see these kinds of headlines changing for the next 2 or 3 months.

Foreclosure Filings Up 120% - 220,000 homes lost to bank repossessions in the second quarter with the estimation for this year having to be revised to be more than expected. Foreclosures are really taking its toll on the country.

10 House Selling Secrets - For prospective home sellers. Read up on tips to get more cash for your home faster with these tips such as paying much attention to detail for your home’s entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and more.

The percentage of vacant homes available for sale remained relatively flat in the second quarter, just a notch above the rate for the first quarter of 2008 and for the comparable period a year ago.

The nation’s homeownership rate, meanwhile, also stayed relatively stagnant at 68.1%.

Some 2.8% of homes, excluding rental properties, were empty and on the market from April through June, according to Census Bureau figures released Thursday. The vacancy rate hit a record high of 2.9% in the first quarter. It was 2.6% a year ago.

Just under 2.2 million empty homes were for sale in the most recent quarter. The south had the highest vacancy rate at 3.2% and the northeast had the lowest at 1.9%.

Congress and the Bush administration are scrambling to stabilize the troubled housing sector, which is roiling financial markets worldwide. The House Wednesday approved a bill offering up to $300 billion in assistance to strapped homeowners. Lawmakers also approved Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s plan to back mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Senate is expected in coming days to take up the legislation, which President Bush has said he will sign.

Credit: CNN News

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Here is another article about existing home sales dropping more than expected in the month of June. Rough times for America this summer. Percentage of existing home sales dropping.