Real Estate

CalSTRS is investing $820 million in the apartment business by purchasing a collection of East Coast assets from defunct investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Homeowners in the Sacramento metropolitan area are underwater by $20.7 billion, according to a national study being released today by Seattle-based data company Zillow.

At the height of the housing bubble, Plumas Lake seemed like a good deal to buyers willing to trade a long commute for a big house.

The median sales price for single-family resale homes in Sacramento County ticked upward in April for the fourth straight month, according to DataQuick.

Foreclosure activity fell by double-digit percentages across the Sacramento region and the state in April, compared with the same month a year before, ac- cording to data released today by RealtyTrac.

The sprawling Capitol Towers complex, long envisioned as a potential development jewel in downtown Sacramento, has changed hands.

Principal reduction, long a nonstarter with lenders, has suddenly become a potential reality for thousands of homeowners who owe far more than their houses are worth.

The Chase Homeownership Center is one of a growing number of brick-and-mortar offices across the Sacramento region where homeowners facing the threat of foreclosure can get help face to face.

The recent nationwide settlement between states and mortgage lenders is intended to help struggling homeowners, but it may also unleash a new wave of attempts to fleece them.

Anticipating a fresh wave of mortgage fraud scams, a group of law enforcement, state government and real estate officials Friday warned struggling homeowners to be wary.

Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage financier, said Wednesday that it made a profit in the first quarter of the year and that it does not need additional bailout money – a first since the federal government took it over in the fall of 2008.

More than 200,000 letters from Bank of America will begin landing in homeowners' mailboxes this week, the bank said Tuesday, offering principal reduction as part of the $25 billion mortgage settlement announced in February.

Thousands of struggling homeowners could reduce the amount of money they owe on their mortgages by up to $100,000 under changes that the state's Keep Your Home California program announced Monday.

The pitched political struggle over the future of California's mortgage law has roused labor and activist groups into using guerrilla tactics to call out moderate Democrats in an election year.

Like a lot of vacationers, Rick and Kristie Santos would return from trips to Lake Tahoe during the housing boom wondering what it would take to own a second home there.

Their homes are gone, their credit is shot and their rent is often more expensive than a mortgage payment.

Steve and Tasha McLaughlin have had two kids since they bought their two-bedroom "Brady Bunch"-style house in South Natomas seven years ago. They need more room, but they can't move: The house they bought for $256,000 is worth just $90,000, and an attempt to sell it failed.

As more Sacramento homes slip into foreclosure, scores of house "flippers" have swooped in to buy properties at rock-bottom prices and sell them for quick profits.

In a neighborhood flush with short sales and foreclosures, Patrick and Linda Rossitto are trying to sell the old-fashioned way.

Mortgage defaults are not just a problem of the poor. Sacramento's wealthiest residents are defaulting on their recent home loans at least as often as everyone else.

View a chart of home sales in the Sacramento area.

Data for resale single-family detached homes that closed escrow.

Home sales charts.