Monthly Archives: May 2009

As this week’s signal that homebuyers are returning to the market, both Existing Home Sales and New Homes Sales posted improvement versus month-prior figures this April. According to the National Association of REALTORS, the number of Existing Home Sales rose … Continue reading →

Conforming mortgage rates rose by 0.625 percent Wednesday. Yes, you read it right. Zero-point-six-two-five percent. The surprise surge in pricing started shortly after 1:00 P.M. ET, then continued all the way until the market’s closing. It was the sharpest one-day … Continue reading →

Each month, researchers measure home values in 20 large U.S. cities, then compile their findings in a report called the Case-Shiller Index. It’s a popular measurement of housing health across the country, but it’s far from perfect. As 3 examples: … Continue reading →

When sinks deliver low water pressure or “spray”, homeowners like to blame faulty plumbing. A more likely culprit, however, is a neglected faucet aerator. Built-up dirt and sediment eventually slow down water delivery on most faucet types. In this 1-minute-40-second … Continue reading →

Rates go up, rates go down. Catch them while you can. After Wednesday’s mortgage market rally drove rates down by a bunch, Thursday’s sell-off pushed them right back up. This has been a common pattern in the skittish world of … Continue reading →

Mortgage rates fell after the Federal Reserve released its April 28-29, 2009 meeting’s internal notes Wednesday. Officially known as “Fed Minutes”, the report is an in-depth account Federal Reserve’s last get-together, detailing the discussions and decisions that create our country’s … Continue reading →

A “housing start” is a new home on which construction has started and, for the fourth straight month, single-family home construction remained flat in April. For the battered housing market, this is the latest in a series of signals that … Continue reading →

One third of the way into the year and we have an interesting real estate market that has developed in South Orange County - both for buyers, and sellers. Of course you have heard about distressed houses being a good … Continue reading →

According to the American Resort Development Association, there are more than 4 million timeshare owners across the United States. There are ample buying opportunities, but what if you want to sell your timeshare? In this 4-minute piece with NBC’s The … Continue reading →

More than 18 million freight containers make 200 million trips per year, moving the world’s goods from port-to-port. It’s system that’s been in place for 50 years. But ever since a California architect used the containers to build the world’s … Continue reading →