6 real estate headlines: 9-16

A daily dose of headlines for real estate agents, mortgage lenders and consumers.

A new mortgage refinancing tool The New York Times: The tool compares a user's current loan with other refinancing options and bases its answer on real-time feeds about these loans' rates and costs.	25% of open-house goers don't plan to buy Crain's: And then there are those who have other reasons to attend open houses. Fully 11% of respondents said they came to pick up good decorating ideas.
Banks bounce back but can they handle the next crisis? USA Today: Big banks are in much better shape than they were two years ago, but the issue of how to handle the collapse of another cross-border giant still shadows the global economy.	Charting the market: A bit of brighter news Washington Times: Although sales activity has dropped significantly since spring, one housing statistic should be encouraging. Homes are selling more quickly than in recent years.
More sellers cut U.S. home prices for 3rd straight month Reuters: Lingering job market weakness, a hefty supply of foreclosed homes and soft demand after the homebuyer tax credit ended in April kept buyers in the driver's seat in many markets.	College Park student housing meets resistance Washington Examiner: A proposed development for more student housing is meeting heavy opposition from local officials who would rather entice more young professionals to the area.

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