From a mass refinance plan to mass mortgage principal forgiveness, the supposed "fixes" will reward some at the expense of far more.

Let's start with that principal forgiveness. Some Democrats have been hounding the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the FHFA and its leader Ed DeMarco) to initiate a program to reduce the value of mortgages where the mortgage is larger than the value of the home, i.e. "underwater". The idea is that this will keep those borrowers from defaulting on these mortgages.

The losses to Fannie and Freddie, according to DeMarco, would be somewhere around $100 billion, if they were to write down principal on all 3 million underwater mortgages backed by the two. That money, DeMarco noted in a letter back to the Congressman, would come from taxpayers, who have already footed a $150 billion bill from Fannie and Freddie.

Then there's that pesky refi plan that's been floating around for a few years now. The idea is that Fannie and Freddie would refinance about 14 million of their own borrowers to 4 percent or less, as long as the borrowers are current on their loans. This would supposedly juice the economy with household savings of about $36 billion a year. Administration officials have already told me they are not considering such a program as it is too expensive in too many ways. And then there's that fairness issue again, as in why should the government fund refinances for borrowers with Fannie and Freddie loans but not for the other half of American borrowers who don't have Fannie and Freddie loans?

We can, however, look for the president to say something about the current expansion of the government's refinance program for underwater borrowers, and we're eager to hear how he thinks it's going, given that it has fallen under harsh criticism for helping too few borrowers. Perhaps he might want to change/expand that program, but then again details are not exactly popular in State of the Union addresses historically.

President Obama will likely mention the settlement talks going on between states attorneys general and the big banks over the so-called "robo-signing" foreclosure paperwork scandal, which involves administration officials as well. In fact HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and U.S. Associate Attorney General Thomas Perrelli were in Chicago yesterday meeting with state AGs. They made it clear there is no deal, and talks have been ongoing for a year now, but yesterday's meeting kind of sets up the opportunity for the president to mention its progress.

From what we know of that deal, it could involve principal write down for some borrowers in trouble on their mortgages. That would be the banks' punishment, but of course you have to ask if that's entirely fair to everyone else who did pay their mortgages on time and in full and would like to see some forgiveness for their financial pain as well.

The one potential housing fix that does seem fair is the REO to rental program being hashed out among federal regulators and the FHFA. This would be for Fannie, Freddie and the FHA to sell their REO's (foreclosed properties they now own) in bulk to investors. There would likely be some tax incentives offered, but this is the fastest way to get rid of distress in the housing market, thereby stabilizing overall home prices. It would also put more rental inventory on the market, as demand has been high, pushing up rents higher. The trouble is this isn't particularly politically popular, as it runs contrary to the American Dream of home ownership, not to mention it helps investors, who are largely blamed for the housing mess in the first place. And there's that pesky fairness thing again.

Questions? Comments? RealtyCheck@cnbc.com And follow me on Twitter @Diana_Olick

So check your credit rating and take action to immediately dispute any erroneous information. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if you dispute something in your credit report that is outdated, inaccurate or unverifiable, then that information must be removed within 30 days.

Fortunately, there are several ways to cut your mortgage costs and put more cash back into your bank account.

1. Shop around to refinance your home loan

If you have a mortgage and are paying more than 5% on your home loan, consider refinancing. A mortgage refinance could save you thousands of dollars a year, especially if you have decent credit.

A 2011 survey from CreditSesame.com found that there were 12 million credit-worthy Americans who were overpaying their mortgages by an average of $436 a month. By refinancing, those homeowners could save about $52,000 over 10 years.

Unfortunately, too many people have been reluctant to even try to refinance, for fear of getting rejected by a bank. Even those who do take the time to apply for a refinance often simply go to their existing mortgage lender--failing to shop around.

But that's a big mistake. A recent study in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics found that women are especially guilty of not comparison shopping for the best mortgage rates. As a result, women tend to pay higher mortgage rates because "they are more likely to choose lenders by recommendation while men tend to search for the lowest rate," the study's authors said.

Don't make the common refinancing mistake of failing to shop around, automatically going with your current lender. Today you can easily compare current mortgage rates and get quotes from several mortgage lenders through sites like HSH.com and MoneyRates.com.

HSH.com's refinance calculator can show you exactly how much money you could save with a refinance.

“If you’re moving or plan to move within the next month or so, you’re probably aware of the need to notify your bank and the post office of your new address,” says Sherrill Trovato, president of the National Association of Enrolled Agents. “But you should also notify the IRS.”

You can also write a letter to the IRS to notify it of your new address. Include your full name, old and new addresses, Social Security number or Employer Identification number, and signature. If you file a joint return, be sure to include the correct information for both taxpayers. Those filing jointly but have separate residences, should also make sure you include this information as well. You can also change your address online, at IRS.gov.

And don’t forget to notify your employer of your new address to ensure a speedy delivery of your W-2s.

The number of lost refund checks has actually decreased over the past few years thanks to taxpayers choosing to receive their refunds via direct deposit. In 2010, more than 78 million taxpayers chose to receive their refund through direct deposit, and the IRS recommends more people do the same.

“This is the fastest and easiest way to receive your refund,” says Trovato. “You don’t have to worry about your refund getting lost in the mail, or having your check stolen.”

Last year 8 out of 10 taxpayers filed their return electronically, or e-file, but you don’t have to file electronically to take advantage of the direct deposit option. Paper filers can receive a direct deposit refund directly into their bank accounts, split a tax refund into two or three accounts, or buy a savings bond.

“Make sure your account information is correct when you sign up for direct deposit,” says Jacki Pearlman, principal tax researcher at the Tax Institute at H&R Block (HRB: 16.08, +0.18, +1.13%). “Double-checking your account number and bank routing number ensures a quick, hassle-free refund.”

Pearlman says some people may be concerned about privacy issues when submitting their bank account number to the IRS, but says this shouldn’t be a cause for hesitation.

“Remember, you’re sending in a tax return with a lot of personal information on it, anyway,” she says. “But if you’re really concerned about an unauthorized person having access to your account, you can easily open a free checking account and use it specifically for direct deposit purposes.”

Taxpayers who know they have a return coming are urged to file early, and can use the “Where’s My Refund?” tool at IRS.gov to get a status update at any time. Paper checks usually take about six weeks, while those who e-file can expect to see their refund directly deposited into their bank accounts within eight days.

Do Benefits Outweigh Costs? - A potential landlord's first order of business is to decide whether the income is worth the loss of privacy and living space.

Homeowners can estimate their potential rental revenue by comparing rental rates for their area on websites such as Roommates.com and Craigslist.

Prince, who says she enjoys renting part of her home to tenants, says homeowners need to think carefully about whether they want to live with someone else.

"If the home is already separated into an apartment in the basement, that's a lot easier, but if you are renting rooms within your living space, you need to decide if you are willing to share a (bathroom) and a kitchen," Prince says. "It's important to know what you want and how you want to live, even in terms of the hours you keep."

Dan Moore, a homeowner who has rented out rooms in his home in Boulder, Colo., says homeowners should expect to lose some privacy.

"Unless you've lived with people recently, you should start out with a short-term tenant to try it out," says Moore. "You need to get used to sharing your refrigerator and your space. On the other hand, it's nice to have someone take care of your home while you are away."
Take care of legal issues

Once homeowners are committed to the idea of living with tenants, they need to take appropriate steps to meet legal and insurance requirements and screen potential tenants.

Prince recommends checking the legal requirements before committing to renting space. She says some communities require a permit for renting your basement, but if you are sharing your space, this is generally not required.

Every homeowner should have a written lease signed by the tenant, which protects the homeowner's rights.

"You should use state-approved leasing forms that you can find online and also know your city's laws about renting property," says Kimberly Smith, president of the Corporate Housing Providers Association and co-founder of CorporateHousingbyOwner.com in Denver, a business that links homeowners with short-term corporate tenants.
Make sure all are insured

"Call your homeowners insurance company before you bring in a tenant to find out if this action will impact your insurance coverage," Prince says. "You may or may not need landlord's insurance, but, in particular, you need to know things like what happens if your tenant is bringing a dog that is on the dangerous dog list and won't be covered."

Disenchantment with real estate is bound to swell further on Tuesday when the most widely watched housing index is all but guaranteed to show that prices of existing homes sank in March below the lows reached two years ago until now the bottom of the housing crash. In February, the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index of 20 large cities slumped for the seventh month in a row.

Housing is locked in a downward spiral, industry analysts say, not only because so many people are blocked from the market being unemployed, in foreclosure or trapped in homes that are worth less than the mortgage — but because even those who are solvent are opting out.

Trulia, a real estate search engine for buyers and renters that is based here, is a hive of renters, including Mr. Flint. “I’m in no rush at all to buy,” he said. He expects homeownership to decline further to about 63 percent, a level the country first achieved in the mid-1960s.

Tim Hebb, a Los Angeles systems engineer, expertly called the real estate bubble. He sold his bungalow in August 2006, then leased it back for a year. Since then, the 61-year-old single father has rented a succession of apartments. But he always resists, figuring housing is still overpriced and even when it stops declining it will stumble along the bottom for years and years. He says there is plenty of time to get back in if he should ever want to.

The market signaled further trouble on Friday when the April index of pending deals was released by the National Association of Realtors. Analysts had predicted the index, which anticipates sales that will be completed in the next two months, would be down 1 percent from March. Instead, it plunged 11.6 percent.

Many of those in the business of building and selling houses believe the current disaffection with real estate will pass. After every giddy boom comes the hangover, they acknowledge, but that deep-rooted desire for a castle of one’s own quickly reasserts itself.

Most people still want the big house with the big lot in the desirable school district in the suburbs. No one ever renovated the kitchen or redid a room for the kids in a rental. The market’s persistent weakness, however, runs the risk of feeding on itself. Buyers are staying away despite the lowest interest rates and the highest affordability levels in many years, which in turn prompts others to hesitate.

Trulia and another real estate site, RealtyTrac, commissioned Harris Interactive to take a poll last November about when people thought the market would recover. A third of the respondents chose 2014 or later. But in a new poll, released this month, the percentage giving that answer rose to 54 percent.

The sharp decline in prices since 2006 has meant a lost decade for many owners. But what may prove even more discouraging to potential buyers is academic research showing that the financial rewards of ownership were uncertain even before the crash.

In a recent paper, a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City found that the notion that homeownership builds more wealth than investing was true only about half the time.

“For many households in many years, renting and investing the saved cash flow has built more wealth than homeownership,” the economist, Jordan Rappaport, concluded. Economics affects potential owners in other ways. A house is a long-term commitment that many are loath to make in uncertain times like these.

“What I’m hearing from people is that they don’t want to be tied to a particular geography, which inclines them to renting,” said Mr. Flint of Trulia.

San Francisco is one of the country’s most expensive cities, so renting has a natural appeal here. But the Associated Estates Realty Corporation, which owns 13,000 apartments in Georgia, Indiana, Michigan and other Midwest and Southeast states, also is seeing more people deciding to rent.

“We have more of what we call ‘renters by choice’ than I’ve seen in the 40 years I’ve been in the apartment business,” said Jeffrey I. Friedman, chief executive of Associated Estates.

For decades, the company has asked former tenants why they were moving out. During the housing boom, as many as a quarter of those moving on said they were buying a house. In 2009, the percentage of new owners fell in the first quarter to 13.7 percent, the lowest ever.

Last year, as the economy improved, the number rebounded. This year, it fell back again, to 14 percent.

Builders clearly believe that the future includes many more renters. So far this year, construction of multiunit buildings is up 21 percent compared with 2010, while single family-homes are down 22 percent. Sales of new single-family homes are lower than at any time since the data was first kept in 1963.

Susan Lindsey, a San Diego software programmer, was once eagerly waiting for the housing market to crash. She said she would have no guilt about swooping in on some foreclosed owner who had bought a place he could not afford. With prices now down by a third, however, she is content to stay in her $2,500-a-month rented house. She prefers to invest in gold, which she has been buying since 2003.

Thor spent $87.5m last month to buy the Bellevue Galleria, a 200,000 sq ft retail and office centre whose tenants include Rock Bottom Brewery, Men’s Wearhouse and Bungie, the video game developer best known as the creator of Halo.

Vacancies will decline up to one percentage point over the next year, with offices and apartments benefiting most as companies hire workers and Americans relocate for jobs, according to the National Association of Realtors. “The big question for the real estate market is, will the recovery continue?” asked Mr Sitt.

Despite increases in initial claims for unemployment insurance, job creation has been strong this year. The US economy added more than 200,000 jobs in April for a third straight month, a pace fast enough to keep up with population growth and reduce unemployment. Economists polled by Bloomberg expect the May report on Friday to show another 200,000 new positions.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, said: “Job growth creates demand for commercial space, and the economy should be adding between 1.5m and 2m jobs annually both this year and in 2012, with the unemployment rate falling to 8 per cent by the end of next year. Given the minimal new supply in recent years, the rising demand means vacancy rates will be trending down.”

Experts say cities with growing technology and energy industries that generate new jobs are performing best, including tech centres San Francisco, Seattle and San José and energy hubs Dallas, Houston and Denver.

Companies will need office space to accommodate their new employees. That demand is likely to push vacancies down one percentage point to 15.3 per cent in 2012. Rents are projected to rise 0.3 per cent this year and another 4.3 per cent the next.

Chris Macke, senior real estate strategist at CoStar, warned developers must exercise “discipline” in how quickly they break ground on new projects.

“Everybody’s getting excited for the rent growth and planning new office buildings, which, if that happens too soon, could curtail the rent growth.”

As Americans go back to work – and those already working get pay rises – they are also likely to go shopping. Retail vacancies are expected to fall half a point to 12.6 per cent next year.

And developers have found that renters —reluctant to buy in a still-unsteady market— are embracing them. One marketing banner flapping against a ritzy, new rental building in New York says it best: "Repent. Rent. Repeat."

Frank Gehry's crumpled, stainless-steel skyscraper in Manhattan--the tallest residential tower in the world--was originally supposed to include 200 sprawling condos along with 700 rentals. Now all of the critically-acclaimed building's apartments are for rent. The units, whose rents start at $2,630 for a 600-square-foot studio, are even rent-stabilized --meaning rents are regulated so tenants will only see small annual increases. There's even an option to pay extra for décor hand-picked by Gehry, including Capellini's Rive Droite armchair, Jonathan Adler's Claude Drawers and Blu Dot's Swept Sofa.

"People are liking the fact that they don't have to commit to a mortgage and a large dollar amount to live here," says MaryAnne Gilmartin, executive vice president of Forest City Ratner, the building's developer.

The upgrades aren't limited to New York buildings. In Chicago, a 547-square foot studio in the Jeanne Gang-designed Aqua, with its liquid, undulating glass skin and curving balconies, can be had for $1,571. In late April at Silicon Valley's Three Sixty Residences, the sales office re-opened as a rental office. Since 2007, not one of the building's sleek condos, with their Bosch appliances and Del Tango cabinetry, had made it out of escrow and into a final sale, despite the fact that the plush residence sits in the middle of Silicon Valley, one of the U.S.'s top 10 millionaire hotspots.

During the credit bubble, the 651 units in New York's MiMA might have easily gone into bidding wars, as similar properties had. Instead the developer put 500 of the apartments on the market as rentals. Since rentals in the Hell's Kitchen building became available in mid-March, 70 percent of the rentals have been leased. For $3,390 a month you will get quartz countertops, Italian cabinetry and 44,000-square-feet of "hand-crafted" party space. There's also a subsidized, residents-only, 24-hour Equinox gym.

Among the new residents: New York writer Mark Simpson, 47, who looked at an apartment at MiMA because of the buzz the development had generated. Simpson took one look at the brushed-oak floors and floor-to-ceiling windows and filled out an application. In May, he moved into a 1,200-square-foot two bedroom. He pays $6,400 a month for an apartment he says he could never afford to buy — and wouldn't want to if he could.

"I have so many friends who are losing their shirts, I just don't think real estate would be a good way to spend money at all" says Simpson.

That's a departure from the attitude of the housing boom years. Renting used to be déclassé among young, executive-class strivers, a sure sign that you couldn't come up with the money for a down payment. Now, even among the moneyed, luxury leasing--and being untethered-- is chic. "There's definitely a decoupling of home ownership and the concept of prosperity in the American cultural vernacular," saysTara-Nicholle Nelson, head of consumer research at real-estate website Trulia.com.

Brian Moynihan, the CEO of Bank of America, says that would-be homeowners in some parts of the U.S. should look elsewhere for long-term investment returns. "It's sobering to think, but some people shouldn't be thinking of (their home) as an asset," Moynihan told a gathering of attorneys general at their 2011 conference in April.

Conflicting signals about the market have only added to the allure of renting for those who might otherwise buy. Prices and interest rates are low. But lending standards are strict. Supply is abundant. But so are the forecasts that the U.S. could be in for a lost decade of sideways house prices. It's led to a resurgence in people taking advantage of the "renter's subsidy," the idea that while real estate prices are stuck or moving lower, it's better —and cheaper — to rent premium real estate than it is to buy.

"There's a lot of people who can afford to buy, but who won't buy," says Nelson.

The statistics on renting and owning reflect that sentiment. One-third of U.S. homeowners now owe more on their homes than they are worth. Since the financial crash, nearly 3 million households have gone from owning to renting. Another 3 million are expected to do the same by 2015, according to Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies. That has led to higher rents; the average price of a two bedroom residence is nearly $1,000, a 50 percent increase since 2001. Still, in nearly three quarters of cities, it is cheaper to rent than to own, according to Moody's Analytics.

These factors have helped push home ownership rates to a 10-year low; 66.4 percent of Americans own their homes, down from a record 69.2 percent in 2004.

Investors, many of whom are making all-cash purchases, appear to be driving the housing market at the moment, and they are also among the more optimistic about the sector.

A recent survey by the online real estate firm Move Inc., showed investors are among the most bullish about the outlook for housing. The reasons they give? You can buy and fix up a home for very little money, and there's little competition from traditional buyers, who are either uninterested or can't get the financing.

In Nevada, for example, foreclosure sales accounted for 53 percent of all residential sales in the first quarter, the highest percentage of any state but down from nearly 54 percent of all sales in the previous quarter and down from 59 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2010.

California foreclosure sales accounted for 45 percent of all residential sales in the state during the first quarter, up from 43 percent of all sales in the fourth quarter but down from nearly 48 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2010.

The average foreclosure sales price in California was nearly 34 percent below the average sales price of homes not in foreclosure. California bank-owned properties that sold in the first quarter had been repossessed by the bank an average of 164 days prior to sale, while properties that sold in the earlier stages of foreclosure were in foreclosure an average of 156 days before selling.

If members of MORe and the Realtor Association of Northwest Chicagoland (RANWC) sign off on the merger agreement, MORe would absorb RANWC and grow to 16,000 members, extending its reach from DuPage County and most of suburban Cook County into Lake County and northwest Cook.

MORe CEO Pam Krieter would oversee the merged association, with RANWC CEO Peggy Kayser assuming the role of chief programs director.

The merger is expected to produce cost savings and economies of scale that would help MORe hold the line on local dues in a time of declining membership, without closing any of the six offices currently operated by both associations, said Christine Chase, the chairwoman of MORe's board of directors.

Classified ads site MoveThatBlock.com is now featuring residential real estate listings through listing syndicator Point2. Users of MoveThatBlock.com can search for jobs, dates, commercial real estate, residential real estate, apartment and home rentals, and vacation rentals. Users can add listings to any category on the site at no cost.

The residential real estate category of the site includes more than 768,000 listings, including U.S. properties from more than 240 multiple listing services through Point2. The partnership went live today and brings Point2's partner count to 64.

For commercial real estate listings, MoveThatBlock.com has partnered with Developers Diversified Realty (DDR), Centro Properties Group, The Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, and Phillips Edison and Company. For rentals, the site has partnered with video classifieds site Reachoo.

Mount Kisco New York Real Estate - Many of the new renters are former owners who lost homes to foreclosure or bankruptcy. For others who could afford one, a home now feels too costly, too risky or unlikely to appreciate enough to make it a worthwhile investment.

All told, nearly 38 million households are renters.

Among the signs of a rising rental market:

-- The pace of apartment construction has surged 115 percent from its October 2009 low. It's still well below a healthy level. But permits for apartments, a gauge of future construction, hit a two-year peak in March. By contrast, permits for single-family home are on pace for their lowest annual level on records dating to 1960.

-- The number of completed apartments averaged about 250,000 a year before the boom. They fell to 54,000 last year and will probably number around the same this year. But then the number will likely double to about 100,000 in 2012 and hit 250,000 by 2013 or 2014, according to the CoStar Group, a research firm. The lag is due to the time it takes for an apartment building to be completed: an average of 14 months.

-- Demand is driving up rents. The median price of advertised rents rose 4.1 percent between the end of 2009 and the end of 2010, census data shows. Few expect the higher prices to stem the flood of renters, though. One reason: Younger adults don't value homeownership as earlier generations did and many prefer to rent, studies show.

-- Rental housing is giving builders more work just as construction of single-family homes has dried up. Still, that economic lift won't make up for all the single-family houses not being built. Apartments account for only about one-fourth of homes. And renters are outspent roughly 2-to-1 by homeowners, who pay for items from lawn care to remodeling and help drive the economy.

Before the housing bust, mortgage rates were so low it was often cheaper to buy than rent. That was true a decade ago in more than half the 54 biggest metro areas, according to Moody's Analytics. Today, by contrast, it's cheaper to rent in about 72 percent of metro areas.

Consider Mason Hamilton, 26, an energy consultant who rents an apartment with his wife for $1,100 a month in Alexandria, Va., outside Washington. He'd like something bigger. But he says he doesn't plan to buy even though he could afford to.

"My parents always told me, `You need to buy a place; you need to buy property,'" he says. "But the housing market is insane."

Many younger Americans see owning as risky. It hardly seems the best way to build wealth, especially when prices are falling.

"There's been this idea for years, a part of the American dream, that owning a home improves and strengthens communities," said John McIlwain, a senior fellow at the nonprofit Urban Land Institute. "But what we've learned over the past few years is that many people simply are not ready to own a home."

From the 1940s until 2007, homes appreciated an average of nearly 5 percent a year, adjusted for inflation. In the past four years, the median price of a single-family home has sunk 37 percent, by $57,500, to its lowest since 2002. Yet in some areas, owning is still too expensive for many.

"It's becoming so difficult for most Americans to afford a home, with larger down payments and tighter credit, that it is creating a renter's nation," says Robert Shiller, a Yale economist and co-creator of the Case-Shiller home price index. "The home is no longer an investment; it's a burden."

Homeownership bestows its own financial advantages, of course. Each loan payment builds equity. Loan interest and property taxes provide tax deductions. And in normal housing markets, home values rise over time.

But for now, renting is more attractive. Hamilton, the energy consultant, says his father, a 58-year-old teacher in Richmond, Va., still owes nearly as much on his mortgage as his house is worth.

"He's stuck in that house," Hamilton says. "After telling me to buy for all of those years, he'd love to rent like me."