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When real estate comes in second

By Teresa Boardman, Friday, November 27, 2009.

In the last moments of my life I doubt if I will regret not having shown another house. I think of things like that over the Thanksgiving holiday because it is the one of three holidays when I don't work -- not ever.

Maybe I shouldn't say that I don't work -- as these holidays usually involve a lot of cooking and a house full of people who I don't get to see often enough.  more...

Tentative thanks in a turkey economy

By Lou Barnes, Friday, November 27, 2009.

Long-term rates fell again last week as concern for the economy deepened: the 10-year Treasury fell to 3.27 percent, taking mortgages a hair under 5 percent.

However, much of the new data in the holiday-shortened week was quite favorable: new claims for unemployment insurance nosedived to 466,000 last week, a huge drop from the prior 505,000 threshold and 200,000 below the worst of last winter.

Another happy surprise: October sales of existing homes surged 10.1 percent, sales of new ones by 6.2 percent, and even purchase loan applications showed a little life.  more...

YouMail: The new voicemail

By Frank Borges LLosa, Friday, November 27, 2009.

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Trust thy agent?

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson, Friday, November 27, 2009.

Q: I am a first-time homebuyer in my fifties, and I have a problem with real estate agents. I am very private about my finances, and everyone I run into asks me questions that I'm not comfortable answering.

My mother grew up during the Depression and instilled in me a sense that I should be very skeptical, take my time making decisions and not just trust anyone who claims to be an expert. These values have stood me in good stead throughout my whole life, but they seem to cause me to clash with real estate agents, who want me to take their advice and make offers immediately, even though that's not my style.

I'll find one, work with them for awhile and then things fall apart. The last one actually told me that she wouldn't work with me anymore. What am I doing wrong here? I thought they would be much more grateful for my business than they seem to be.  more...

California resale inventory shrinking

By Inman News, Friday, November 27, 2009.

Inventories of existing single-family homes in California are dwindling, reaching just 4 months of supply as sales picked up from September to October, the California Association of Realtors reported.

Home sales historically trail off during the fall and winter months, CAR said, but affordable home prices, low mortgage rates, and the extension and expansion of the federal homebuyer tax credit are expected to drive home sales through the end of the year and into early 2010.  more...

Non-investors get Fannie REOs first

By Inman News, Friday, November 27, 2009.

Fannie Mae has launched a new program that's intended to give public entities and buyers looking for a home to live in, rather a property to flip, a first crack at homes Fannie has foreclosed on.

Under Fannie Mae's 'First Look' initiative, only offers from buyers who intend to be owner occupants and buyers using public funds will be considered during the first 15 days a property is on the market. Offers from investors will be considered only after the first 15 days have passed.  more...

Power lines vs. property values

By Steve Bergsman, Friday, November 27, 2009.
Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lexrex/83309237/">radiant guy</a>.

About a mile from my house sits the local elementary school, and across the street on the south side of the campus is a long straight block of homes with more than the usual number of for-sale signs.

The only thing that distinguishes this block from all other blocks around the school where there are few homes up for sale is that the backyards of these homes run up against a power-line corridor, and, oddly, in one place where the power line shifts direction, there is an empty lot next to the home where a tower sits.  more...