Real Estate News

Here is a look at real-estate news in todays WSJ :

Home Mortgage Rates Stabilize. After the previous weeks spike, mortgage rates stabilized, with rates barely changing, Freddie Mac said. Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 4.4% for the week ended Nov. 24.

U.S. Looks Deeper Into Foreclosures. Several U.S. agencies have intensified their review of the banking industrys foreclosure documentation problems, using their powers over bankruptcy proceedings to scrutinize the treatment of troubled mortgages.

Simon Property Plans Offer for U.K. Malls. Capital Shopping Centers said major shareholder Simon Property was interested in making a possible cash offer for the U.K. shopping-center owner, sending its shares soaring.

A Home-Price Puzzle in Spain. Variations in the data make it hard to get a handle on the true picture of the countrys housing-price decline, and hence the Spanish economy.

Heard on the Street: Property Investors Want Room With a Queue. Real-estate investors are raring for the next party well before their hangovers are gone.

Singapore Pledges Property-Bubble Prevention. Singapore stands ready to take steps to temper exuberance in the property market and preempt speculative bubbles, the city-states central bank said.

Designers Offer a Bit of Pizzazz. Europes top designers are regaining their footing, just in time for Christmas, and the trees of the last few difficult years are bearing appealing, homey, multifunctional fruit.

Home Front: Camping Out in High Style. A Northern California compound has tents, a communal bath and a “mess hall.”

Private Properties: Actor Jason Lee Sells L.A. Home. A Los Angeles home owned by the actor Jason Lee has sold for $3.1 million. It was listed for $3.3 million. Mr. Lee purchased the home in 2007 for $3.4 million from musician Robert Cray, public records show.

Relative Values: Homes With Pool Houses. Homes with pool houses, in Connecticut, California and Texas.

Luxury Setai in Name Spat. The Setai Fifth Avenue, a striking 60-story luxury hotel and condo that opened to guests earlier this month, has been hit with a lawsuit by the Setai Group, which wants its brand name taken off the property.

Eating Spots Perk Up Cortelyou Road. A string of new restaurants along Cortelyou Road is spicing up the neighborhood and solidifying its status as a foodie destination.

Hunters Point Contest Narrows to 3. The Bloomberg administration has zeroed in on three finalists vying to develop a major housing complex on the Queens waterfront envisioned as a bastion of middle-class housing.