Unstructured Finance

By Matthew Goldstein

Four months ago, the regulator for Fannie Mae announced with much fanfare that it would accept bids for 2,500 single-family homes owned by Fannie Mae. The process has drawn a lot of interest from hedge funds, private equity firms and other big money players, but it’s been a slow one.

However, it appears the Federal Housing Finance Agency has finally come up with a date for qualified bidders to submit bids for the deal. And that date is, (drum roll) June 7, say people familiar with the situation.

There’s been a lot of speculation about which firms will bid for these Fannie-owned homes. My incredibly well-sourced colleague Jenn Ablan and I have been on this from the start and will endeavor to find out as quickly as possible the names of some of the biggest players entering the market for foreclosed homes. Stay tuned.

Nordstrom Fail: One sign of Las Vegas' hard times is this failed Nordstrom store and accompanying shopping center that never advanced beyond the skeletal stage.

By Jennifer Ablan

Las Vegas had become the poster child of what many had pegged as the biggest casino during the real-estate boom, all which was engineered by cheap credit and a yearning for owning a piece of the American dream.

The economic toll of the financial crisis swept through towns and communities in terms of home foreclosures, devastated neighborhoods and half-built shopping centers and office complexes.