dent and CEO of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. More Homeowners Weighing Strategic Default?

Nearly half of homeowners recently polled in an online survey said they would walk away from their mortgage if home prices continued to fall. The poll included 1,000 visitors to HousingPredictor, a real estate website. While the poll is unscientific, some housing experts have questioned whether homeowners are starting to grow more accepting of the strategic default idea. Strategic default is when homeowners walk away from their mortgage obligations, despite being able to make their payments.

2 MLSs Sue Over Agent Performance Scores

Two regional multiple listing services are suing NeighborCity.com, a real estate search site, alleging the website is violating copyright laws by using agents’ data without their permission. NeighborCity.com recently had begun assigning performance scores to real estate agents, based on the number of properties they’ve sold, the number of days their listings have spent on the market, and the difference between the final sales price and asking price. But several agents aren’t happy about the performance scores. MLSs in Rockville, Md., and NorthStar MLS in St. Paul, Minn., have filed separate lawsuits in federal court against the operator, American Home Realty Network, saying the info is being used without permission. v