The Associated Press

New Home Sales Up 2.3% in April as Median Price Hits Record High" alt="New Home Sales Up 2.3% in April as Median Price Hits Record High" />

WASHINGTON -- Sales of new homes rose in April to the second highest level since the summer of 2008 while the median price for a new home hit a record high, further signs that housing is recovering. New-home sales rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 454,000 in April, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That ... Continue Reading »

Housing Starts Drop but Building Permits Soar" alt="Housing Starts Drop but Building Permits Soar" />

By Martin Crutsinger WASHINGTON -- U.S. builders broke ground on fewer homes in April, one month after topping the 1 million mark for the first time since 2008. But most of the decline was in apartment construction, which tends to vary sharply from month to month. And applications for new construction reached a ... Continue Reading »

Chris Brown's Curbside Art Angers Los Angeles Neighbors" alt="Chris Brown's Curbside Art Angers Los Angeles Neighbors" />

LOS ANGELES -- Grammy-winning musician Chris Brown's neighbors are unhappy with what some are calling frightening art he's chosen to have painted along the curb of his Hollywood Hills home. A neighborhood group said the grimacing, sharp-toothed, red-eyed goblins painted along a retaining wall have been scaring ... Continue Reading »

Fed Admits Mistakes in Mortgage Settlement" alt="Fed Admits Mistakes in Mortgage Settlement" />

By Martin Crutsinger WASHINGTON -- Some 96,000 borrowers who received checks to compensate them for wrongful foreclosures on their mortgages will be getting an additional check to correct for errors in the initial payment, the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday. The Fed said the affected borrowers received initial ... Continue Reading »

March Home Prices Show Biggest Gain in 7 Years, CoreLogic Says" alt="March Home Prices Show Biggest Gain in 7 Years, CoreLogic Says" />

By Christopher S. Rugaber WASHINGTON -- A survey shows U.S. home prices rose 10.5 percent in March compared with a year ago, the biggest gain since March 2006. CoreLogic, a real estate data provider, said Tuesday that annual home prices have now increased for 13 straight months. Prices are rising in part because more ... Continue Reading »