New housing permits at lowest level since 1997

A report released by the home builders indicates that new permits for construction hit its lowest level since 1997. This is a sign that the home builders are expecting more pullback in values.

Home prices fall for 3rd straight quarter

As expected, the price of homes has fallen for the 3rd straight quarter according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The decline is an average of 6.5% below the peak in 2006.

Check out the neighborhood when buying a home.

Finding a home in the right neighborhood is equally as important as getting it at a value. Many neighborhoods may look suitable from a glance but there could be underlying crime that would affect your decision. Just because a neighborhood is well kept does not mean it is safe.

Home values for 2007 expected to decline

The National Association of Realtors reported that overall home prices are expected to decline this year for the first time since they began tracking this in 1968.

Real Estate Auctions

As lender inventories of repossessed homes reaches uncomfortable levels they resort to selling the homes through auction. A few years ago there were very few of these opportunities available but with recent market declines and increases in foreclosures the auction market is...

Smoggiest cities for 2007

Not surprisingly, Los Angeles is listed as the smoggiest major city in the United States. This is based on a report released today by the American Lung Association. Yet LA is much better than it was 20 years ago before the strict smog laws (if you can imagine that).

Political pressure on lenders to prevent foreclosures

The banks really don’t want your house. It is a costly event for them to foreclose on your property. The average cost of a foreclosure is $40,000. In addition there has been an increasing amount of pressure placed on banks to provide bailout solutions to troubled...

Subprime loan bailout programs

It is clear that the increase in foreclosures caused by negative amortization loans and short term fixed teaser rates has prompted some state governments to get involved by offering a bailout program. In addition to regulatory pressure on lenders the state of Maryland has...

Muni Wi-Fi Powers Hope at SF Housing Project

A superb story of non-profit, community-powered, scalable networking; the Muni Wi-Fi project aims to close the digital gap between the haves and the have-nots."he Westside Courts is a bleak concrete housing project in the city's Western Addition where violence is closer than...