Cities are levying upkeep fees on mortgage companies to prevent the rising number of foreclosed properties from becoming eyesores. The tougher rules also are adding to the financial burden on mortgage companies.

Disney fever is sweeping Shanghai, and it has little to do with giddy anticipation of Mickey Mouse. It's about cash. Homeowners and businesses expect their properties will be bought up to make way for a Shanghai Disneyland.

Judges in several states have found flaws in documents filed by mortgage firms that borrowers facing foreclosure might be able to exploit. But the extent to which the judicial process can make a difference is limited and uneven.

Many mass-market home builders are getting into the custom-home game -- once almost entirely the province of boutique builders. The reason is simple: Custom-home building is more profitable for builders and the big attraction for home buyers is the cheaper price.

June Fletcher offers tips on finding real-estate related opportunities that are holding up despite the current economic downturn.

The sprawling housing legislation cleared a procedural hurdle in the Senate, indicating bipartisan support when lawmakers vote to pass the measure, likely to happen Saturday morning.

Jobless claims soared last week by 34,000, to 406,000. Existing-home sales fell 2.6% last month from May.

Architect Zaha Hadid's plan to redevelop Kartal, a postwar industrial area amid Istanbul's Asian sprawl, is the latest example in a new trend in urban development, in which a visionary designer creates a detailed concept for an entire neighborhood.

Home vegetable gardening is surging thanks to rising food prices and health scares with commercial supplies. Some people are paying thousands of dollars to have landscape architects design and install high-end vegetable patches.

Supermodel Gisele Bündchen and quarterback Tom Brady have both re-listed their former Manhattan pads. A homeowner has listed the former Phoenix house of Republican presidential nominee John McCain for $12 million. Photos