Since the passage of the National Housing Act of 1934, Americans have been promised a safe, decent and sanitary home. While it isn't written in stone like our federal housing policy, the national agenda also aims to make sure that anyone who has served his or her country in the military service should also have a safe, decent and stable place to call home.

Frequently, that goal can be achieved through the GI Bill, which allows for no-down-payment loans. On top of that, many states have special programs for the servicemen and women residing within their borders.

Many private entities also have stepped up to help America's returning GIs in one way or another. National homebuilder Pulte, for example, gave away 20 brand-new homes to worthy veterans over the last two years.

But arguably, no single company has done more than the Madison, Wisconsin-based Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. Over the last two years, Fairway, which has 190 branches covering all 50 states, has given 27 houses mortgage-free to wounded veterans or their families.

"I believe you can make a difference and make a living at the same time. That's when it becomes fun," says Louise Thaxton, the 61-year-old dynamo who makes Fairway's effort roll.

"Nobody asks to be a hero; it just sometimes turns out that way," she says, quoting a popular line from the 2001 military film "Black Hawk Down." "We can step back and someone else can give them a mortgage-free house, or we can step up."

Working in Fairway's Leesville, Louisiana, office, Thaxton is on a crusade on behalf of servicepeople returning from the wars in the Middle East.

"I saw the need for excellence in serving the military," she explains. "We're the watchdog for the better part of the world, and someone needs to be a watchdog that stands between the warriors and the wolves."

That watchdog, as it turns out, is a 5-foot-2 grandmother of 17 who sees the military as a "targeted population," easily cheated, over-billed, ripped off and scammed.

In other words, our fighting men and women make great marks.

They typically are young and financially inexperienced. They may have been trained for combat, but not for fiscal battles. What's more, servicepeople are often transient and, therefore, totally unaware of which local businesses are honest and which are not.

At Fort Polk in Louisiana, Thaxton saw young vets being raked over the coals by used car companies and payday lenders, and she also saw overcharging by title companies and even a bit of gouging by some mortgage brokers.

"I saw lenders not using VA or FHA loans because 'they were too hard' just so they could get the extra fees" from conventional mortgages, she says. "They would refinance people from a 30-year fixed loan to a three-year ARM just to get $5,000 in fees."

Besides closing her own deals, Thaxton began teaching her colleagues about the ins and outs of dealing with returning warriors, which is not the same as working with everyday citizens. For one thing, they often don't have the luxury of time and cannot wait for the market to turn. Another example: Vets may not be stationed at the same base as their spouse, or the civilian half of the couple may be unable to find work.

Four years ago, Thaxton asked her company to back an extension of her education efforts, and Fairway CEO Steve Jacobson gave her his blessing. "He told me to just run with it," Thaxton says.

So she set about creating a continuing education class for real estate agents and brokers on how to deal with military clients. At the end of the class, students are awarded a Certified Military Residential Specialist diploma. (The designation is Fairway's, and not the Mortgage Bankers Association's or the National Association of Realtors', which has its own military designation.)

Last summer, in Clarksville, Tennessee, the home of Fort Campbell, Thaxton led a three-hour seminar for 400 realty pros from as far as 100 miles away. Pacing back and forth in her ever-present combat boots -- she wears them even when she's training for her first half-marathon in the rural backroads of Louisiana -- she asked the entire audience to stand. Then she asked those who have served in the military to sit down.

Next, she asked anyone who's a military spouse, parent, grandparent or child to sit as well, followed by aunts, uncle, nieces and nephews of someone in the service.

Only a few people were left standing, and the point was made: "We are all connected to the military."

At each seminar, Fairway donates a home to a wounded vet. In Tennessee, the recipient was retired Army Specialist Marshall Lane, who was wounded during combat operations in Afghanistan, earning a Purple Heart as well as a Combat Medical Badge for performing his duties while under fire from the enemy.

Everywhere she goes, Thaxton rallies the real estate troops.

"I have a huge goal that every wounded warrior receive a mortgage-free house," she said in Clarksville. "It's not impossible if everyone gives something. There's none of us who can do everything, but everyone can do something."

When the evangelist for wounded vets closed the class, the entire room stood and burst into applause.

Hispanics recovered quickly from the housing downturn, according to a new report on the state of Latino home ownership in the United States.

But the study also found that the demographic hit a wall last year, blindsided by investors who gobbled up houses for cash -- easily outbidding buyers who required financing -- and by more stringent lending rules.

Absent those two barriers, the growth of Hispanic ownership "would likely have been much stronger" in 2013, concludes the annual report from the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP).

Between 2000 and 2013, the Latino population accounted for nearly half of the increase in homeowners, with Latinos achieving an ownership rate of 46.1 percent, according to the study. Since 2010, though, Hispanics accounted for an even larger 56 percent of the country's total net ownership growth, making it a "crucial driver" of demand during the housing recovery.

Latinos also experienced a strong rebound in the value of their homes, the study found, rising 25.3 percent from the bottom of the housing recession in 2011.

But the gains came to a screeching halt last year.

The Hispanic ownership rate recorded only a "modest net increase" of 84,000 households, far less than the increases recorded in the previous two years -- 127,000 in 2011 and 348,000 in 2012.

The main reason: "far and away" a lack of inventory suitable for first-time Latino buyers, according to NAHREP co-founder and CEO Gary Acosta.

In a nationwide survey of NAHREP members, nearly half -- 42 percent -- said inventory shortages due to competition from cash investors was the "primary barrier" to Hispanic ownership last year.

More than 78 percent said they had at least one qualified client who had been actively searching for a house for more than three months without success. And 40 percent said they had more than five who have been unable to find a place they liked or who have seen their offers rejected because they involved financing.

NAHREP's members, 75 percent of whom are realty agents and 25 percent of whom are in the mortgage business, report that the first-time buyer clients are "losing out" to investors who can pay cash.

Prior to the housing crisis, the report notes, investors were a negligible part of the housing market.

In 2011, both mom-and-pop companies and big outfits with pockets full of money accounted for just a 5-percent share of all single-family home transactions. But last year, according to real estate data firm RealtyTrac, more than 40 percent of all sales were made to cash buyers.

"This astounding trend of cash sales and increasing percentage of sales to institutional investors ultimately results in a reduction of up to 50 percent of the available housing inventory to owner-occupant buyers," the report says.

The trend is particularly acute in markets with a heavy Latino population.

In Miami, for example, two-thirds of the homes sold last year were for cash. And in Atlanta, the fastest growing major city for Hispanics, 48 percent of the sales in last year's fourth quarter were to institutional investors.

In more expensive markets like Los Angeles and Chicago, sales to investors did not exceed the national average. But they were higher than the historical norms.

Worse, perhaps, is that the "land grab" of inexpensive, first-time buyer houses artificially drives up prices to the point where Hispanic and other owner-occupants are driven out of the market, the report says.

"The net effect of this trend is that it destines many Latino families to be renters by systematically edging them out of the prospect of home ownership," the report says. "Communities that were once dominated by owner-occupants have become rental communities."

NAHREP also faults tighter credit standards for the fall-off in first-time Hispanic buyers. New lending regulations and higher down-payment requirement have simply made it more difficult for any rookie buyer, Latino or not, the group says.

But it says "misguided government programs" that favor investors "have had unintended consequences that have contributed to the severe lack of housing inventory in dozens of Hispanic neighborhoods, leaving thousands of qualified buyers on the sidelines while inviting an unprecedented wave of institutional investors into the market."

Every year after the judges for the annual Best in American Living Awards (BALA) complete their work, they outline what they see as the latest trends in residential design.

BALA recognizes the best that builders have to offer -- in all types of houses, from single-family to mixed use, multifamily to remodels -- and in all price points, from the most expensive custom homes to far more reasonable condominiums and apartments, in all parts of the country.

It's a tough contest to win. But the builders, architects and previous winners who make up the jury of their peers have a reasonably easy time reaching a consensus. After all, the best work always rises to the top.

Competitions like this are important because production builders are mostly followers who tend to imitate the industry's few true leaders. So today's standout design trends are often incorporated into the mainstream. Not immediately perhaps, but certainly by the time old models are tossed aside and new ones are introduced.

"The BALA winners always redefine excellence in the homebuilding business," said Victor Mirontschuk, the New York architect who chaired the latest contest.

In that regard, housing is a lot like high fashion, in that what the judges liked this fall is likely to be what homebuyers see next spring.

So, without further ado, here are the latest trends -- some new and others timeless.

-- Kitchen features. This room tops buyers' priority lists, year-in and year-out. Last year, mega-islands were popular, offering areas not just to prep a meal but also to socialize at a bar-top setting. This year, as in previous years, Carrara marble countertops, cooking hearths and intricate light fixtures were prevalent.

White on white also is big. "We're back to white everything," said one judge. Flooring, backsplashes, counters and appliances are lightening up, and layering white on white is a new approach. So are shiny-surfaced appliances, backsplashes, countertops and glass walls.

-- Specialty lighting. Lighting offers a great opportunity to add texture and color to any room. Natural lighting is paramount, but on top of that, specialty fixtures help set the mood. They can also add drama, highlighting design aspects such as a tray ceiling, and are often works of art in their own right.

Lighting is also being paired with wood ceiling details to further enhance the room's design and create a feeling of warmth.

"It used be an afterthought," said one judge. "But people need more lighting, a lot more of it. And it is being used more creatively."

-- Bathrooms. Baths this year are becoming more compact while maintaining an open feel. To do so, the best designs are eliminating walls, adding transparent glass enclosures and reducing the amount of unused floor space between fixtures.

At the same time, dual master baths seem to be the rage, even in smaller spaces. They are glamorous yet entirely functional, clean and simple. Often, they have a shared shower.

-- Bold exteriors. Bold colors can now be found outside, further enhancing curb appeal. Other features, such as a mix of cladding materials, doors, windows, porches, shutters or trim, add an extra layer of drama.

Color, finish, fixtures and lighting are also being used to give houses a more modern flair while still maintaining their historic integrity.

-- High-quality detailing. Regardless of a home's size, owners expect detail that speaks to the home's architecture. But these elements must be of appropriate scale and in relative proportion to the overall design. Otherwise, they detract rather than add.

-- Ceilings. With material and design choices, ceiling treatments can change a room's feel. Color, for example, can add warmth or excitement, while tray ceilings, barrel vaults and coffers add depth and texture.

When there are fewer walls, ceiling treatments are a good way to define living spaces.

-- Outside in. In a trend no longer limited to warmer climates, lines between the interior and exterior are even more blurred. Movable glass walls, gourmet outdoor kitchens and interior courtyards all add more everyday living space.

-- Courtyards. Here, the proper scale is key. But for single-family houses, they provide privacy and, when shifted to side yards, add to living space. In multifamily properties, interior courtyards are used to showcase such amenities as pools and firepits.

-- Multitasking. Not so much this year, but in previous contests, flexible floor space with multiple master suites -- one on the first floor, or as an apartment or cottage on the property -- were popular. Universal design elements that make life easier for live-in grandparents, or for the owners as they age, were also popular.

"We saw those everywhere," said one judge.

As in previous events, specialty rooms were part of many winning entries. Even in the most modest houses, there was some sort of outdoor fire feature so the patio could be used year-round in most places.