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Fed not budging on short-term rates

By Inman News, Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

A Federal Reserve committee that determines monetary policy is keeping its target for a key short-term interest rate at zero to 0.25 percent, saying economic conditions will likely warrant keeping it at "exceptionally low levels ... for some time."

The Fed last month completed a series of 10 consecutive reductions to the federal funds rate, the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans. Before the cuts began in September 2007, the federal funds rate stood at 5.25 percent.  more...

Sending out an SOS over MLS entries Premium Content

By Kris Berg, Wednesday, January 28, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/cogdog/2679508854/" target=blank>cogdogblog</a>.

As we grow up, we are taught truths. The funny thing about our truths is that they tend to change over time. When we rest on our laurels, clinging too fiercely to our belief systems without question, we risk missing the memo on change altogether. And in these times, more than ever, our inboxes are full.

"Don't run with scissors." OK, that was a good one. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and call it timeless.  more...

Solution for frigid condo

By Bill and Kevin Burnett, Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

Q: My single-level, end-unit condominium, built in the early 1980s, is always cold, despite the fact that the outside walls are insulated and the windows are double-glazed.

I have a gas furnace in the attached garage. The crawl space is lined with heavy-duty vinyl, and the amount of head space is about 2 feet. There are a lot of pipes and wires. I wonder if it would help to add some kind of insulation under the flooring. How would you recommend doing it, and do you feel it would be cost-effective?  more...

Sales pace of California resales rises 85%

By Inman News, Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

The sales pace of single-family, detached resale homes soared 84.9 percent in December 2008 compared to the same month in 2007, with the median sales price diving 41.5 percent, the California Association of Realtors reported this week.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate of home sales in the state was 544,580 in December -- this rate is a projection of a monthly sales total over a 12-month period, adjusted to account for typical seasonal fluctuations in sales activity. That compares to a pace of 294,520 sales in December 2007.  more...

Reverse mortgage for buyers debuts

By Tom Kelly, Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

Reverse mortgages have been available for more than two decades for older homeowners who have accrued a significant amount of equity in their homes. Now, the government is backing a program to help older homeowners purchase a home with the increasingly popular financing program.

The Federal Housing Administration, a component of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, insures the nation's most popular reverse mortgage known as the Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM.  more...

Economist: $825B plan may avert 'depression' Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Wednesday, January 28, 2009.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote today on an $825 billion stimulus bill that could save millions of jobs and prevent foreclosures, but which might also make the recession worse if the government's growing debt sends interest rates up and the dollar plummeting.

President Obama urged fast passage of the bill, saying new statistics being released every day "underscore the urgency of the economic situation."  more...