DSnews: Mortgage collectors silence homeowners with “gag orders”
By Colin Robins
A curious piece of text is appearing in some homeowner’s loan modification agreements—by accepting a modification from the bank or non-bank servicer, the homeowner agrees to never publicly say, write, or post anything negative about the company doing the modification.

Los Angeles Times: New home sales jump in April; first increase since January
By Andrew Khouri
Sales of recently built single-family homes jumped 6.4 percent from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Wall Street Journal: When lenders think globally
By Anya Martin
Global bank HSBC found in a 2013 survey of its affluent customers in Asian countries that more than one-third owned a property abroad, with the U.S. being one of the top destinations. The survey found that the largest proportions of Asian home buyers for U.S. properties were in China, Taiwan, India and Indonesia.