Normally, housing markets are seasonal: they heat up in the spring — as nice weather encourages consumers to go outside and shop — and summer, as families try to get their kids settled before the school year. But this year, has …
real estate
Solutions to 9 Puzzling Financial Frustrations
How You Can Fix the Housing Crisis—At Least in Your Own Home
You could wait for the government to fix the housing crisis, or you could simply wait for the housing market to rebound. In either case, though, you might be waiting a long time for anything to happen. Instead of just hoping for …
Housing Prices Dip for the Fourth Time in Three Years
After the Great Recession, there were some pundits who theorized that real estate would make a W-shaped recovery. With the S&P/Case-Shiller housing prices out this morning, it’s now clear that there are not one but two W’s in the chart — and that’s not a good thing. Index prices fell 1.1% from November to December. In other words, …
Housing Recovery at Last? Evidence Mounts
While experts continue to warn that housing has not yet hit bottom, a slew of indicators suggest otherwise. The latest is a stellar quarterly earnings report from Home Depot, which is benefitting from hopeful owners sprucing up …
Castles in Need of a Lord
Who Qualifies for the $26 Billion Foreclosure Settlement?
It took over a year for lawmakers and state AGs to agree to the terms of the $26 billion foreclosure settlement announced this week, and it could take up to another three years for eligible homeowners to see a share of that …
No Bottoming Out for Real Estate Market as Home Values Keep Falling
If you’re watching the real estate markets, the good news is that the Federal Reserve has pledged to keep interest rates low through 2014. The bad news is that the market is going to need it. The November Case-Shiller housing …
The Number of ‘Improving’ Housing Markets Nearly Doubles
Is the real estate market better yet? Seeking a way to aggregate local data, the National Association of Home Builders and First American Title Insurance constructed an “Improving Markets Index” in an effort to track metro area …
The Real Estate Market that Defies the Trends
The real estate market continues to flatline throughout most of the country. But in Washington, D.C., housing prices are up a smidgen (0.3%) from the previous month. More importantly, year-over-year prices have risen by 1.3%, a …
The 5 Items That Will Get Cheaper in 2012
Here are five consumer items that will get cheaper and five that will get more expensive as the new year wears on
5 Events that Really Mattered for Housing in 2011 – and Beyond
Government, the mortgage industry and forces of nature all shook the housing market in 2011. They had both an immediate impact and slow-burning effects, setting the stage for a bumpy 2012 with more foreclosures, political battles …