A federal-state program aimed at helping homeowners in states hardest hit by the mortgage crisis is falling far short of its goals, a federal watchdog said in a report released Thursday.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/MmWY2x7HGdU" height="1" width="1"/

If falling prices have left you with a mortgage bigger than your home's value, you may soon be able to refinance at a lower rate.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/T9DA996jSQg" height="1" width="1"/

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will announce Tuesday that it's considering new rules aimed at mortgage servicers to help protect consumers against "costly surprises."img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/It-xBcxJXP0" height="1" width="1"/

The bursting bubbles of the 1990s and 2000s caught most of the experts by surprise. Not Robert Shiller.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/LJewty5_QB4" height="1" width="1"/

Versailles -- no, not the one in France but this one in Windermere, Fla. -- is for sale for $65 million, though half completed. Westgate Resorts founder David Siegel halted construction on his 90,000-square-foot dream house after the financial crisis buffeted his time-share biz. The home is the subject of a new documentary: The Queen of Versailles.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/TOCdVhZDo3Q" height="1" width="1"/

The world will only have to wait a few more weeks to find out whether Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will allow principal reductions on mortgages they back.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/UezUpOWIF4U" height="1" width="1"/

A federal judge approved the $26 billion settlement deal reached between the nation's five largest mortgage lenders and the attorneys general of 49 states and the District of Columbia over abuses in foreclosure processing.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/cm6QffxSB3g" height="1" width="1"/

Renting used to be cheaper than buying. But in many U.S. cities that's no longer the case, as rents continue to climb and home prices stagnate.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/waLyIZ3Lgug" height="1" width="1"/

Despite the housing bust and the recession, these 10 U.S. cities still managed to record population gains of 30% or more in the decade ending in 2010, according to the Census Bureau.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/rD8X8thPAro" height="1" width="1"/

As the economy continues to take a toll on consumers' finances, a growing number of people are discovering that becoming roommates with mom and dad, or a 20- or 30-something son or daughter, helps to ease some of the financial pain in tough times.img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/rss/money_realestate/~4/CvWnnlJBfgE" height="1" width="1"/