Real Estate News – April 26, 2011

The share of renters who spend more than half their income on housing is at its highest level in half a century and it’s no longer just low-income tenants who are feeling the pain, according to a Harvard University study (via WashingtonPost.com): http://wapo.st/eq3cSx

A wave of foreclosures is forcing down home prices in most major U.S. cities. But economists and real estate agents are noticing what they call a key first step for any housing recovery: a drop in the glut of homes for sale in markets hit hardest by foreclosures (via StarTribune.com): http://bit.ly/eMyJyD

A growing number of high-end homes are selling at a loss or facing repossession by lenders in Las Vegas, which already has the highest rate of foreclosure filings among large U.S. cities (via Bloomberg.com): http://bloom.bg/h3zcZW

Some California lawmakers, supported by unions and left-leaning activist groups, have an idea to help stem the flow of foreclosures: Charge banks $20,000 every time they want to foreclose on a home (via blogs.WSJ.com): http://on.wsj.com/gQP2Zz

FICO: Short sale no better for your credit score than foreclosure (via weblogs.baltimoresun.com): http://bit.ly/hqSW3X

Merscorp Inc., which runs an electronic registry of mortgages, had a civil-racketeering lawsuit against it voluntarily dismissed (via Bloomberg.com): http://bloom.bg/e6pG4a

Mortgage delinquencies on single-family homes declined in March from both month- and year-earlier levels, according to Freddie Mac (via online.WSJ.com): http://on.wsj.com/g4mxB2