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NEW YORK A U.S. judge kept alive a federal regulator’s lawsuits against big banks including Credit Suisse Group AG and Bank of America Corp over allegations they misled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into purchasing billions of dollars worth of risky mortgage debt. The rulings, by U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan, were the latest in a series of decisions allowing the Federal Housing Finance Agency to proceed with lawsuits against banks it blames for losses incurred by Fannie and Freddie. The FHFA, which regulates Fannie and Freddie, last year sued 18 banks over the housing finance giants’ losses [...]

U.S. house prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in September, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly house-price index released Tuesday. Compared with the prior year, prices are up 4.4%, according to the index, which is based on data from Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages. Earlier Tuesday, S&P reported that the Case-Shiller 20-city composite index rose 0.3% in September, or a 0.4% gain after seasonal adjustment.

An Obama administration refinance program is on target to help a million borrowers in 2012, according to a major housing regulator Tuesday. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that more than 618,000 loans for borrowers who have no or little equity in their home have been refinanced through the first eight months of 2012 employing the program which seeks to refinance mortgages to current low interest rates as long as their loan is backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-controlled housing giants. That number is up from the 400,024 mortgages refinanced through the program in 2011. These [...]

U.S. house prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in July, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly house price index based on Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages. June’s gain was revised to a 0.6% gain from a previously reported 0.7% increase. Compared to July 2011, FHFA reports prices are up 3.7%. Earlier, S&P reported the Case-Shiller 20-city composite index rose 1.6% in July, or a 0.4% gain after seasonal adjustment. The Case-Shiller index is constructed differently and also includes three months rather than one months of transactions as the FHFA index does.

Home prices climbed 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis in June, following a revised 0.6% increase in May, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Thursday. In the 12 months through June, prices rose 3.6%, the agency said. FHFA also reported that prices rose 1.8% in the second quarter from the first quarter, and are up 3% from the prior year. The FHFA purchase-only index is based on transactions bought or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.