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It was the second straight monthly increase, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index of 20 U.S. cities, but experts warn it is not likely to last. Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco are among the gainers.

Home prices posted strong gains in May as a federal stimulus program boosted sales. But many experts predict the housing market to soften this year as the effects of government support wane.

The number of newly built houses purchased nationwide jumps 23.6% from May but is 16.7% below the June 2009 level. Sales dropped 6.6% in the West but were up in the three other regions.

Sales of newly built houses in the U.S. rebounded overall in June from May's record low but still continued to drop in the West.

Rapid rescorings by independent, legitimate firms use procedures approved by the three major credit bureaus. They can help correct errors or omissions that are dragging down your scores.

Call it the great real estate disconnect of 2010: Mortgage rates have been at half-century lows and home prices have stabilized, but applications for mortgages to buy houses have declined most weeks during the last three months, as measured by the Mortgage Bankers Assn.

Condominium owners who are trying to sell in today's agonizingly slow housing market should make sure that their community is on the Federal Housing Administration's approved list. Ditto for someone who is thinking about refinancing a condo.

An association's board approved a levy of $9,000 per unit to repair dry rot and water damage to all balconies. Its CC&Rs probably required a vote of the entire membership.

Question: Our board of directors began building renovations several months ago using money the association was awarded in a lawsuit. They found severe dry rot and water damage to nearly all balconies. The board has approved a special emergency assessment of about $9,000 for each unit. This year I was laid off and have been unable to find a job. I wrote the board informing them that I wouldn't be able to pay the assessment until I found work. Their only reply was that I could take advantage of the 15-year loan option other owners were given. Unemployment benefits barely cover my mortgage payment, and I can't take out a personal loan without a job, so I don't see how I can pay the board's loan option. Does the board have to offer me hardship relief? Do I have any options or is my only choice to let the board put a lien on my home?

A 1926 estate in San Marino keeps its traditional look through an extensive restoration.

A stately traditional home with Spanish Colonial elements and a historic pedigree is the centerpiece of this oak-shaded estate in the hills of San Marino.

Plus the VH1 'Ochocinco' estate, Shabby Chic's Rachel Ashwell, Canadian actress Estella Warren, rapper-actor Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner

Try not to get too excited, but "Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Cheryl Hines and her husband, producer Paul Young , have put their gated Brentwood home on the market at $4,249,000.

The number of default notices in the second quarter falls 43.8% compared with the same period in 2009. Meanwhile, banks step up repossession of foreclosed homes.

The number of Californians entering foreclosure slid dramatically in the second quarter to a three-year low as the fallout from the worst of the housing crisis continued to abate.

Housing starts fall 5% overall from May, single-family home construction is down 0.7% and apartment construction declines nearly 20%, the government says. It's the latest sign of trouble in the housing market.

New residential construction dropped in June, another indication that the U.S. housing market is struggling.

Penthouse floors are vacant in some of the best office buildings in Los Angeles County, a sign of the troubled economic times and the gulf between asking prices and what tenants are willing to pay.

The chief executives at Atlantic Richfield Co., the oil company once based in Los Angeles, ran their international empire from some of the most regal corporate offices ever created in Southern California.

An oversupply of space, businesses' reluctance to add costs and landlords' eagerness to keep good tenants leads to some of the cheapest lease rates in years. In the Inland Empire, vacancy tops 25%.

Southern California office landlords faced more bad news in the second quarter as occupancy and rents in their buildings fell again.

A guesthouse, a separate guest studio, two two-car garages and 27 fruit trees populate more than half an acre in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

This Pasadena compound, with a house, guesthouse and separate guest studio set in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, was built with a craftsman's eye for detail and a passion for nature and art.

The mortgage giant addresses complaints that home sales have been sabotaged by arbitrary reductions in appraisers' valuations.

Picture this: You've signed a contract to sell your house. Your buyers say they've nailed down the right mortgage. All is well. But then the appraisal comes in low — $25,000 to $50,000 under what was agreed in the contract.

Mortgage makers are going beyond tax returns and bank statements to determine whether you're a good risk. They're checking such things as where you have pizza delivered and where you shop online.

That pizza you had delivered the other night could mean the difference between whether you are approved for a mortgage or rejected.

Address: 27403 Whitefield Place, Valencia 91354

Pierce Brosnan is selling Malibu Mediterranean for $3.9 million

A gated Mediterranean owned by actor Pierce Brosnan, who was the fifth James Bond in the long-running film series, has come on the market in Malibu at $3.9 million.

The 2.9% drop from May to $270,000 reflects a shift to sales in less expensive markets and is still a 9.8% increase from a year earlier, housing data firm says.

California's median home sale price fell 2.9% in June compared with May even as sales picked up with buyers closing on purchases made during a spring season fueled by state and federal tax credits.

Bank repossessions increased 38% in the second quarter from the same period a year earlier for a record total of 269,952, according to data to be released Thursday by RealtyTrac.

The number of U.S. homes taken back by banks through foreclosure hit a record high in the second quarter, even as lenders delayed more homes from entering the process through short sales and loan modification efforts, according to data to be released Thursday.

Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown sues mortgage agencies and their regulator that shut down access to funds that allow state homeowners to pay for solar panels and other efficiency upgrades in installments.

California is suing the federal government to stop it from derailing a program that allows homeowners to finance solar panels and other energy-saving improvements through their property tax bills.