California and New York, the key holdouts in a long-awaited settlement over foreclosure abuses, moved closer Monday to backing a deal that would force the five largest mortgage lenders to reduce loans for about 1 million households

More million-dollar-and-up homes are going into foreclosure or forced into short sales, as the housing crisis catches up with those on the higher end of the market.

State officials Friday suspended the license of the contractor building a home in Milpitas where an immigrant carpenter was buried alive over the weekend when a trench collapsed over him.

SANTA CRUZ -- A Santa Cruz man convicted in 2010 of stealing a Ben Lomond home will have to pay $1,895 in restitution to the rightful owners. Raymond Tate sentenced in May 2010 to five months in County Jail and three years' probation for felony charges of filing false property records and

Bay Area residents struggling to find ways to stay in their homes and pay their monthly mortgage are encouraged to check out a free foreclosure prevention seminar Saturday in Antioch.

The Central Avenue property will eventually feature 62 apartments.

The East Bay hotel that closed its doors without notice last May, leaving guests stranded without rooms and employees out of work without jobs, is poised to be resurrected under new owners.

Berkeley is considering closing its Wells Fargo account worth $350 million and entrusting the money to a community bank or credit union, saying the bank is partly to blame for the financial crisis of the last four years.

President Obama announced a sweeping plan Wednesday to help underwater homeowners refinance into lower interest loans, but funding for the proposal must be approved by a combative Congress, lowering the possibility that it will help anyone soon.

ServiceMaster Clean looks to combine existing offices, add new workers

WASHINGTON -- U.S. home prices fell for a third straight month in nearly all cities tracked by a major index. The declines show that most homeowners are not reaping the benefits from some signs of an improving housing market.

Measure, part of city's Climate Action Plan, aims to curb greenhouse gas emissions

Two little words: sustainable growth.In the lexicon of regional planners, the term describes the only sensible strategy for managing residential sprawl, congested roadways and greenhouse gas.

Percentage still much higher than level before recession

A workshop for underwater and other struggling Silicon Valley homeowners sorting through a confusing array of options, ranging from federal help to short sales or foreclosure, is being held Wednesday in Santa Clara.

Today: Google's earnings report leads to losses on the stock market, but Intel, Microsoft and IBM ride their quarterly reports to solid days; Also: Apple falls, possibly due to lack of iPhones in China, but Zynga gains after announcing it wants to get into online gambling; and the housing market has a good December.

Custom Kitchens wins top national award for its work

Senior housing and Whole Foods project gets OK

Custom Kitchens takes Architectural Heritage award

Across the Bay Area, real estate in 2011 was a puzzle of contrary trends that saw prices decline for single family houses and large areas of depressed sales, but bubbling activity in key pockets that may indicate a better year to come.