Ask A Banker: Why Are Mortgage Rates So Low?
by Matt Levine
A reader who just re-financed his mortgage asks: Why are so many people willing to lend huge amounts of money at such low interest rates?
Housing
Planet Money posts about Housing
In One Key Way, The Housing Crisis Is Still Going Strong
by Jacob Goldstein
The U.S. housing market is still a ward of the state. Almost all new mortgages — $1.6 trillion last year alone — are guaranteed by taxpayer dollars.
The North Dakota Town Where A One-Bedroom Apartment Rents For $2,100 A Month
The strange troubles of a small town where an oil boom has driven unemployment below 1 percent.
©2013 NPR
Episode 428: Turning A Boom Town Into A Real Town
Thousands of workers have flooded into the town. But they're reluctant to call it home.
Are Houses Cheap Right Now?
by Jacob Goldstein
Here are two ways of answering that question — along with key numbers from cities around the country.
Hidden Housing Subsidy May Soon Come Out Of Hiding
by Jacob Goldstein
A program that backed lots of mortgages during the housing bust may soon need taxpayer money to make good on its promises.
Foreclosures Are Falling In States Where It's Easy To Foreclose
by Taylor Tepper
And they're rising in many states where it's hard to foreclose. States face a tradeoff between protecting homeowners and getting through the foreclosure crisis.
The 15-Year-Old Who Bought Two Houses
by Chana Joffe-Walt
Willow Tufano saved up money for her first house by selling things people left behind in foreclosed homes. After I did a story on her earlier this year, she became a little bit famous (and bought another house).
Episode 409: The 15-Year-Old Who Bought Two Houses
On today's show, we follow up with Willow Tufano. She just bought another house. She's trying to land a reality TV deal. And she recently wore a Pikachu costume on a trip to Alabama.
Remember The 14-Year-Old Who Bought A House? She Just Bought Another One
by Chana Joffe-Walt
Willow Tufano's life over the past few months was sort of surreal. She got caught up in two dramas: America's housing market and America's media circus. Now she's trying to get her own reality show.
New Home Sales And (Maybe) Good News About The Housing Market, In 2 Graphs
by Lam Thuy Vo
The housing market is recovering — very slowly.
Household Debt : Falling. Slowly.
by Jacob Goldstein
Mortgage debt is falling, but still high. Student debt is rising.
American Houses Are Still Much, Much Bigger Than They Used To Be
by Lam Thuy Vo
Newly built houses aren't quite as big as those built at the end of the boom. But they're still big.
A Lost Decade For American Families
by Jacob Goldstein
American households got poorer in the first decade of the 21st century, largely because of the housing bust.
Why Does The Mortgage-Interest Tax Deduction Still Exist?
If you own a home in the U.S., if you have a mortgage, you can deduct the interest you pay on that mortgage from your taxes. It's a popular, well-entrenched policy. But according to one policy adviser in Washington, "the mortgage-interest deduction ... makes no sense."
