Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages rose slightly this week, inching above 5 percent, Freddie Mac said Thursday.

By June, about 5.1 million people are projected own a home whose value is below 75 percent of what is owed, prompting many to walk away from their mortgages.

The number of people preparing to buy a home rose slightly in December, a sign that home sales could be stabilizing heading into the spring home buying season.

Tishman Speyer Properties walks away from 11,232 Manhattan apartments because it can't pay its mortgage. That's good business.

Although evidence is mixed and tentative, some analysts see evidence that hard-hit housing markets in California, Arizona and elsewhere are showing signs of healing.