One of the biggest U.S. mortgage processing companies has agreed to pay $121 million to resolve states' claims that it wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners who should have been allowed to stay in their homes.

2. MED Buys East Memphis Land for $3.4 Million - Tuesday, December 4, 2012

6525 Quince Road Memphis, TN 38119

Sale Amount: $3.4 million

Sale Date: Nov. 16, 2012

3. Office Condo Owner Files $1.3 Million Loan - Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Collins Corner LLC, the owner of a 10,000-square-foot office condominium at 968 Civic Center Drive in Collierville, has filed a $1.3 million loan on the property.

4. ‘Contrarian’ Collins Finds Success in Tough Market - Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Doug Collins has always believed that the greatest opportunities are found in troubled times.

The president of Prudential Collins-Maury Inc. Realtors even classifies himself as “somewhat of a contrarian.”

5. Economy Grew 2.5 Pct. in Q3 as Consumers Rebound - Friday, October 28, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — A summer of modest economic growth is helping dispel lingering fears that another recession might be near. Whether the strength can be sustained, though, is far from clear.

6. Economists Cut Growth Forecasts for 2011 and 2012 - Tuesday, September 13, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Confronted with an economy that has decidedly underperformed this year, economists are scaling back their growth forecasts for 2011 and next year.

In their latest forecast, top economists with the National Association for Business Economics predict that the economy will grow 1.7 percent this year – down from the group's May prediction of 2.8 percent expansion. For 2012, the group is forecasting growth of 2.3 percent, compared to a May forecast of 3.2 percent growth.

7. Layoffs, Housing Data Point to Chronic Problems - Friday, June 24, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sour reports Thursday on the number of people who sought unemployment benefits and buyers of new homes illustrate what Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged Wednesday: Many factors weighing on the economy are proving to be more chronic than first imagined.

8. Flood Stymies Homeowners, Homebuilders - Wednesday, May 4, 2011

In the aftermath of last week’s storms and as the Mississippi River continues to rise, homeowners and builders alike are taking a closer look at their insurance policies.

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that federal disaster aid was made available to Tennessee to supplement the area struck by severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and associated flooding during the period of April 25-28.

9. Gov't Orders Lenders to Reimburse Homeowners - Thursday, April 14, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government on Wednesday ordered 16 of America's largest mortgage lenders and servicers to reimburse homeowners who were improperly foreclosed upon.

Government regulators also directed the financial firms to hire auditors to determine how many homeowners could have avoided foreclosure in 2009 and 2010.

10. Sovereign Files Loan For Two Ivy Creek Homes - Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Sovereign Homes LLC has bought six lots in the Ivy Creek Planned Development in Lakeland and also filed a $408,000 builder construction deed of trust with Regions Bank to begin building two homes there.

11. What People Want - Friday, September 11, 2009

At one time, the quintessential image for the homebuilding industry was a busy job site where contractors and subcontractors worked on everything from a home’s framing to its plumbing, from its wiring to its roofing.

12. Latest Numbers Paint Dreary Homebuilding Picture - Friday, November 14, 2008

The homebuilding industry suffered another period of slower sales and fewer starts in October, signaling a continued crisis in the housing market.

Shelby County saw just 61 home sales by builders last month, a staggering 61.6 percent decline from the 159 homes sold in October 2007, according to the latest data from real estate information company Chandler Reports, www.chandlerreports.com. Last month’s total even marked a 53.1 percent dropoff from the 130 homes builders sold in September.

13. Sector Snap: Regional Bank Stocks Fall - Wednesday, November 12, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) - Shares of regional banks slid Tuesday amid more signs of weakness in the financial sector and a string of bleak corporate earnings reports.

Losses piled up in the broader market as third-quarter reports from companies such as coffee retailer Starbucks Corp. and home builder Toll Brothers Inc. sent a strong signal to investors that few industries are immune to a sharp pullback in consumer spending.

14. Q3 Building Permits Plummet - Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Listen to homebuilders’ language and it’s easy to discern their problems. Instead of using terms such as “expanding operations” and “ramping up production” – as they did a few years ago – builders now resort to phrases like “hunkering down” and “scaling back.”

15. Lenox Homes Makes Adjustments In Poor Market - Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Chris Christian had been in the homebuilding business long enough – more than 20 years – to know it was time to shake things up.

His company, Lenox Homes LLC, was still performing well from Arlington to DeSoto County to Downtown. But as the housing market contracted, as sales sagged and new-home starts shrank throughout the region, Christian figured he better adapt to the changing times or suffer the consequences.

16. Home Inventory Reduction Creeps Along - Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Homebuilders continue to shed their inventory of new homes – a crucial step toward housing recovery – although the rate at which they are reducing stock is slow while overall supply remains abundant.

17. Builder-Sold Homes Drop 50 Percent - Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Count the area’s homebuilders – along with Realtors and mortgage bankers – as another group that sees the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 as a salve for the ongoing real estate crisis.

Doug Collins, president of the Memphis Area Home Builders Association, said the landmark bill is so crucial to the viability of his industry that he has been furiously studying the ins and outs of the bill since President Bush signed it into law late last month.

18. Building Permits Down 72 Percent in Q2 - Wednesday, July 16, 2008

If the county’s new subdivisions sound quieter than usual – free from the cacophony of summer construction – look no further than the most recent data showing how housing starts have come to a screeching halt.

19. Bottoming Out - Monday, April 14, 2008

Reducing starts and shedding inventory continued to be the overriding theme for homebuilders as 2008 began, and it manifested in the shrinking number of building permits filed during first quarter.

20. Numbers Show Homebuilding Nightmare in Shelby - Thursday, March 13, 2008

Connie Neal likens her homebuilding company to a fairytale. At a time when builders' woes are splashed prominently in headlines each day, the activity at Affinity Homes LLC plugs along.

Neal, who owns the Cordova-based company with her husband, Jimmy, said Affinity has even hired new employees while many homebuilders slash payroll or close shop altogether.

21. Builders Optimistic Despite Numbers - Thursday, February 28, 2008

The homebuilding industry has taken so many public relations hits in the form of failing companies and sagging sales that Shelby County's latest round of figures doesn't seem too terrible by comparison.

22. Q4 Home Sales Decline 25% - Monday, January 14, 2008

Following the trend that plagued Shelby County throughout 2007, the fourth quarter suffered a 25.8 percent decline in residential home sales, signaling an ignominious - yet appropriate - end to a tumultuous year.

23. Residential Sales Drop In '07 - Monday, January 14, 2008

A new year gives everyone the chance to forget past failures and begin anew. When Jan. 1 rolls around, people vow to lose weight or stop smoking, change their jobs or change their lives.

In that same vein, the housing industry has resolved to put 2007 in the rearview mirror. Unfortunately - as with many New Year's resolutions - it won't be easy.

24. Builders Hand OutAwards at Gala - Tuesday, December 18, 2007
     The Memphis Area Home Builders Association (MAHBA) closed the year - and began looking toward 2008 - late last week at its inaugural gala and awards ceremony, held in the ballroom of the association's Cordova headquarter

25. Numbers Confirm That '07 Construction Went From High-Octane to Running on Fumes - Monday, December 17, 2007

As president of one of Memphis' largest homebuilders and a 35-year industry veteran, Jerry Gillis of FaxonGillis Homes had no trouble summing up construction activity during the past year: "It started out with a bang and ended with a whimper." Indeed it did.

26. Collins to ServeAs 2008 MAHBA President - Wednesday, December 12, 2007
     Doug Collins of Sovereign Homes LLC and Prudential Collins-Maury Realtors will serve as president of the Memphis Area Home Builders Association for 2008.
     He has been a member of the asso

27. Balancing The Scales - Monday, December 10, 2007

For just the fourth time in almost four years, Shelby County home sales exceeded building permits in a single quarter, chipping away at inventory and giving the local real estate profession some much-needed good news during the holiday season.

28. Realtor of the Year Draws on Hard Work, Ambition - Friday, December 16, 2005

Growing up and working on a cotton farm in Nankipoo in West Tennessee is where Doug Collins said he learned the value of hard and honest work, but he said it also made him realize he wanted out of the cotton fields.

29. Archived Article: Real Recap - Tuesday, August 31, 2004
University Tower Condos Sold for $3

University Tower Condos Sell for $3.7 Million

1387 Central Ave.

Memphis, TN 38104

Cost: $3.7 million

Buyer: Cameron LC

Seller: Larry V. Durham and wife, Merrel H. Durham

Property: 149 units in...

30. Archived Article: Daily Digest - Tuesday, August 3, 2004
Franklin Farms Lots

Franklin Farms Lots

Sell for $2.8 Million

Sovereign Homes LLC has purchased lots 455 through 549 in phase six of the Franklin Farms Planned Development for $2.8 million, according to The Daily News Public Records Databas...

31. Archived Article: Velma (lead) - Thursday, April 17, 2003
Neighbors voice concerns over Midtown plan

Neighbors voice concerns over Midtown plan

By BRYAN MASSEY

The Daily News

Addressing the Land Use Control Board last week, Angela Strain spoke only for a few minutes.

But in objecting to a pl...