Finding a bank-owned home for sale these days is hard enough. Actually buying one is an even bigger problem.

Westport, Conn., police issued this poster after the slaying of a jeweler and the theft of $300,000 in diamonds.

Amazon's effect on Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood has been well-documented. From businesses and apartments to a bevy of new restaurants, the neighborhood has taken on an entirely new look in under a decade.

Bill Lenhart, a managing member of Sunbelt Development & Realty Partners LLC, poses near a bike path in the Calico Basin in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area west of Las Vegas Feb.

Kevin Stern of Desert Star Real Estate has his own small firm. "Some people need the structure of a large corporation, an office to go to every day, social atmosphere, whereas I work from my home," he said.

Though real estate suffered greatly in the Great Recession, hope remains among those who depend on it for their livelihood.

Patty Canniff , a real estate associate broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Yorktown Heights, is optimistic about the 2012 real estate market in Westchester.

First, you made the decision to buy a home.A Next, you went to a lender and got pre-approved for the amount you can afford to borrow.A Then, because you are very smart and wanted expert advice, you decided to work with a real estate agent .A Finally, your agent showed you a lot of houses. Read more: Is This a Reasonable Offer?

FHA has an Energy Efficient Mortgage program that was put into place to help homeowners cut costs on their electric bills. Energy Efficient Mortgage Program

As a Realtor, one of my favorite things about the business is previewing homes that have just been listed for salea especially when they are grand homes.A But truthfully, with homes of this scale, I want to see the kitchen. The Ultimate Gourmet Kitchen

How do you write about the real estate scene without regurgitating what has been written - and said - over and over again? After all, with 2011 now safely in the rearview mirror, the statistics show that it was the fifth-straight year with a drop in home sales in Las Cruces.

One of Beverly Hills' most ambitious Hard Money Loans teams is lucky to have just received an influx of money.

Meet the new jobless - your broker, your real estate agent, your insurer. This group lost ground again as the Canadian economy created a just 2,300 jobs in January, Statistics Canada says.

Charlie Sheen 's real estate agent is being sued by Brooke Mueller 's mom, who claims the realtor screwed her out of a commission for a mega-mansion Charlie purchased last year.

St. Louis - The worst may be behind us. That's what local real estate agents are saying after a significant uptick in home sales over the last couple of months.

Former Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider are leading a "civic-minded" effort to buy Philadelphia's two largest newspapers, Rendell said Friday.

I would have liked to be at Harvard that night; the night that Harvard got hacked.

A And we are off and running. OK, maybe we are off and limping, with little change since the end of the year.

Buying a condominium isn't as easy as it used to be, as slow markets and economic woes have hit this market segment particularly hard.

CLEVELAND A recovery in the city's commercial real estate market could end up easing a predicted tax revenue shock on public-sector budgets that depend on property taxes, such as those for school and library districts, according to a new analysis.