Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008   We’ve been discussing all of these bills and plans for weeks and weeks, and now it’s official… President Bush has signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 into law. With about 700 pages in this bill, it covers a lot of ground, and most of […]

June Pending Home Sales Up 5.3%   The number of pending homes for sale rose in June, a rebound from the previous month.   The National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index rose 5.3% in June to 89 from a downwardly revised reading of 84.5 in May.   The index remains 12.3% below its […]

Home Prices Rise Four Straight Months – Is Anyone Listening?   Amidst the gloom on Wall Street about housing someone forgot to check the stats. The National Association of Realtors® has now reported four straight months of rising housing prices, but it seems no one is listening.   According to NAR statistics, the median home […]

Housing: Finally Some Positive News   Housing is getting some good news as the markets keep fighting on despite the front running economists saying its all but dead.   First off, any good news needs a narrative and it starts with Donald Trumps record sale of his Florida Mansion.   Meanwhile U.S. Housing starts unexpectedly […]

Home Prices Drop in May   A government report says U.S. home prices fell 4.8% in May from the same month last year.   The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight also says prices, on a seasonally adjusted basis, fell 0.3% from April to May. The index is down almost 5% from its peak in […]

Foreclosures: 343,000 and Counting   The number of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure continued to soar in June, according to a report released recently.   RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, reported that lenders repossessed 71,563 homes in June. A year ago, just 26,369 homes were taken back.   During the first six […]

The New Housing Stimulus Package   Even with Presidential veto threats looming, the housing stimulus package has taken another necessary step to being implemented – it has taken on another round of changes, passed the Senate, and is on its merry way to the White House again.   The package is much larger than our […]

Housing Market: Can It Really Get Any Worse?   An even gloomier scenario may be in store for an already ailing U.S. housing market if the overall economy slips into a recession, according to UBS Securities analysts.   Falling home prices, soaring foreclosures at a time of tighter lending and rising unemployment are all weighing […]

Housing Rescue Pace Slows   Hope Now, the mortgage industry alliance of lenders, servicers and housing counselors, reported recently that it helped roughly 170,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure in the month of May. That’s down 7% from the 183,000 loan workouts it reported for April.   The group estimates that its members have helped keep 1.7 […]

National Speed Limit: Would You Slow Down?   Sen. John Warner of Virginia, asked Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to look into what speed limit would provide optimum gasoline efficiency given current technology. He said he wants to know if the administration might support efforts in Congress to require a lower speed limit.   In 1974, […]