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  KB Home Sees Profit on Horizon

  Builder KB Home narrowed its fiscal second-quarter loss as it reported increased orders and sales with higher price tags, overshadowing an elevated cancellation rate.

• Cities Outpace Suburbs in Growth

  Many U.S. cities are growing faster than their suburbs for the first time in decades, reflecting shifting attitudes about urban living as well as the effect of a housing bust that has put a damper on moving.

• More Homeowners Get Mortgage Principal Reduced, but Numbers Still Small

  The number of troubled U.S. homeowners who have been able to get their home-mortgage balances reduced remains small but is on the rise, according to a federal banking regulator.

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  Government-Backed Loans Went to 6,300 Delinquent Taxpayers

  More than 6,300 homeowners who owed millions of dollars in federal taxes received government-backed mortgages in violation of a federal policy, according to a report by a federal watchdog.

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  Sales Support Case for Housing Recovery

  Home-sales data provided fresh support for the view that the strong start to the spring home-buying season marks the beginning of a recovery, not a temporary blip due to an unusually warm winter.

  • Video: Has Housing Turned a Corner?

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  J.P. Morgan Boosts Own Fund

  After a planned J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. real-estate fund got the cold shoulder from potential investors, it turned to a friendlier source: the bank itself.

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  Los Gatos Classic Gets Total Renovation

  This neoclassical house, built in 1902, was more than a little worn when the developer decided to restore it.

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  Home Prices Rise in Metro Areas

  Home prices in the largest metropolitan areas rose again in April, providing further evidence that the housing market is slowly recuperating.

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  A House to Look Smart In

  The idea of curling up with a good book has increasingly come to mean flipping on an e-reader. Yet the home library is on the rise, having become something of a cerebral status symbol.

  • Video: Home Libraries for e-Book Era
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  Broad Economic Changes Find a Home

  Even if a turnaround is afoot, housing is still in for big changes.

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  Vail Begins to Slalom Out of Its Luxury Condo Glut

  Last season's snowfall was abysmal in Vail, but the skiing hotbed at least has reason for optimism about its real estate: Sales of multimillion-dollar condominiums have picked up.

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  Chinese Target U.S. Homes

  Lennar is in talks with the China Development Bank for approximately $1.7 billion in capital to jump-start two San Francisco projects.

House of the Day

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  A Graceful Gardener's Home

  Two previous owners of this property in Suffern, N.Y.—a famous horticulturist and, later, a prominent interior designer—created a space that embraces sunlight, symmetry and nature.

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  Open-Air in Koh Samui

  Hilltops, sea and plantings are the backdrops of this five-bedroom villa in Koh Samui, Thailand, which has a living room that is open to the outdoors.

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  Georgian Manor House

  This seven-bedroom property built in about 1820, but with a history dating back to the 12th century, is set on 15 acres of grounds in Cambridgeshire.

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  Lakeside Modern in Austin

  This 5,100-square-foot, industrially inspired modern home looks out on Lake Travis in Texas.

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  A Taste of Prohibition in Tulsa

  This Prohibition-era home in Tulsa, Okla., was built on the area's booming oil industry -- and designed with the gentleman bootlegger in mind.

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  Modern Country House

  This five-bedroom house was completed eight years ago on the site of a former chalk quarry in Dorset, England, in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

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  Elián's Last Stop in D.C.

  This 18th-century farmhouse in Washington D.C. is historic in more ways than one. Elián González, the Cuban boy whose custody battle sparked an international debate, spent his last days in the U.S. here.

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  A Camera-Ready Auckland Estate

  This sprawling clifftop home has appeared in "New Zealand's Next Top Model" and "MasterChef New Zealand."

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  A Townhouse With All the Trimmings

  A decade-long renovation of this five-floor townhouse near the Meatpacking District has transformed the building into a home with modern conveniences and plenty of space.

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  Untraditional Chinese in Shanghai

  This four-bedroom townhouse in Shanghai infuses Chinese and Western styles in everything from the décor to the kitchen appliances.

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  A Scenic Retreat in Rye

  This six-bedroom house in Rye, N.Y., makes the most of the views provided by its location, perched next to a tidal pond connected to the Long Island Sound.

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  Home on the (Organic) Range

  This 123-acre estate in Santa Barbara, Calif., includes a more than 30-acre organic farm, professional equestrian facilities, and both mountain and ocean views.