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Resale home price falls 9.3% in 2008

By Inman News, Tuesday, February 3, 2009.

The National Association of Realtors today reports that the median price of single-family resale homes sank 9.3 percent in 2008 and is projected to dip another 2.4 in 2009 before rising 4.6 percent in 2010.

Sales of resale homes fell 13.1 percent in 2008, following a 12.8 percent drop in 2007, and are projected to rise 4.1 percent this year and another 6.3 percent in 2010, the Realtor trade group also reported.  more...

Cancel deal, lose deposit? Not necessarily

By Barry Stone, Tuesday, February 3, 2009.

DEAR BARRY: The home I am buying has a buried fuel tank. This was disclosed by the sellers and their agent weeks after we entered the transaction. At first, they said the tank is made of fiberglass and is only five years old. When my agent and my attorney asked for documentation, the sellers offered to provide it on the day the transaction closes. We asked that it be provided on the day of the final walkthrough, but they did not have the papers on that day. Instead, they admitted that the tank is actually 38 years old and is made of steel. If I cancel the deal now, I could lose my deposit. What can I do? --Maryann  more...

Working through lean times

By Alison Rogers, Tuesday, February 3, 2009.
Flickr photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/letheravensoar/523916111/" target=blank>Letheravensoar</a>.

If you haven't seen "Marley & Me," it won't destroy the movie to tell you that one of the cutest moments in the movie is when the John Grogan character, played by Owen Wilson, illustrates the passage of time by describing the flow of his work. It goes something like this: "I wrote a story about gas prices. I wrote a story about water prices. I wrote a story about the council election. I wrote a story about orange juice."  more...

Zillow: So long to $6.1 trillion in home values

By Inman News, Tuesday, February 3, 2009.

Online real estate site Zillow today reported that about $6.1 trillion in home values have been washed away since the housing market's peak in 2006.

And about 17.6 percent of all homeowners were underwater -- owed more than their homes were worth -- at the close of 2008, Zillow reported. The data is based on the company's median home-value estimates, dubbed Zestimates, for homes in 161 metro areas.

The estimates include homes for sale and not for sale in a given market area.  more...