A New York couple got an early Christmas present when an angry judge wiped out their half-a-million dollar mortgage. The judge's ruling eliminated both the $291,000 owed in principal and the $235,000 owed in interest and penalties.

Calling the bank's behavior 'harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive,' Judge Jeffrey Spinner cancelled the $525,000 debt. Now Greg and Diane Yano-Horoski own their smart home on Long Island, New York free and clear.

It's the million dollar question, and it's a heated topic of conversation after years of turmoil in the nation's housing markets -- Will housing markets ever recover?

The question is talked about and debated around water coolers, business offices and even corporate board rooms and seems to have a constant flow of interest in forums on the Internet. The short answer is "Yes in some places, and not so much in others."

Santa Barbara, CA Dec 10, 2009 -- RealtyStore (http://www.realtystore.com) recorded 11,698 Notices of Default (NOD) in Illinois in November 2009; nearly double the 5,797 figure for November 2008. Such notices are posted when a homeowner is significantly behind on his mortgage payments and a foreclosure may take place if the balance is not paid.

According to a recent article in NuWire, more homebuyers are buying REOs (foreclosed homes.)

The article cites low prices and foreclosure bargains as the main reason buyers purchase foreclosures.

The article says a bit more than half (57.6%) of those polled plan to live in the property they’re buying, while slightly less than half (42%) are looking at the home as an investment.

Santa Barbara October 31, 2009 -- RealtyStore, the nation's leading provider of foreclosure listings, released its year-to-date California Foreclosure Report for 2009.

RealtyStore recorded 485,574 Notices of Default (NODs) statewide for the first three quarters of 2009, a 34% jump from NODs recorded in the same period in 2008. Since an NOD is filed by the lending institution when a homeowner falls behind on mortgage payments, NOD filings serve as an indicator of homeowner financial distress in each region.