The nationwide inventory of residential homes for-sale dropped 21 percent in March compared to a year ago, according to newly released housing data from Realtor.com, tracking 146 metro markets.

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Foreclosure Scams Rise Nearly 60%

Mortgage foreclosure scams — which seek to dupe struggling home owners with offers to save them from financial troubles — have soared nearly 60 percent this year.
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BGC Partners Inc. announced it has acquired Grubb & Ellis Co., one of the nation’s largest commercial real estate brokerages. The firm will be integrated with BGC’s Newmark Knight Frank, which BGC acquired in October 2011, and the merged companies will operate as “Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.”
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A Toms River, N.J., couple is suing their landlord, claiming the home they are renting is haunted.
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Permits for new-home building — a gauge of future demand — reached its highest level last month since September 2008, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday.
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In response to guidance from four federal agencies, Citigroup reclassified $840 million in home equity loans as “nonaccruing” in the first quarter because the first mortgages are more than 90 days delinquent.
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A deck is one of the most cost-effective of all home improvement projects. Case in point: A wood deck project returns an average of about 70 percent of its investment cost, according to Remodeling Magazine’s 2011-2012 Cost v. Value Report.
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