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When people are looking for a new place to live, they usually want to know some key facts beyond cost and number of rooms: Most notably, they are curious about what is in the neighborhood and what their commute would be like. In fact, over three quarters of home shoppers rate being within a 30-minute commute to work as important, and two thirds of home shoppers rate being within an easy walk to grocery stores and restaurants as a key factor in deciding where to live.

Mortgage rates posted mixed results this week, but the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate fell to a record low of 4.41 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average

Regional Spotlight—Reports from local agents in Andover, Massachusetts indicate that buyers aren't scouring the market before putting an offer down on a property. Lisa Johnson Sevajian, vice president of Coldwell Banker Andover, Massachusetts says, "Buyers are buying and they are buying quickly. The trend of two to four showings on a property before an offer would come in is changing. I'm seeing offers coming in during the first showing or shortly afterward. When buyers see value they want to take advantage of it right away."

(MCT)—The effects of a home foreclosure extend beyond the family losing its property. The costs—emotional and financial—extend to neighbors, communities and others, though estimates vary. Lender: The Joint Economic Committee of Congress wrote in 2007 that foreclosures carry an average cost of about $78,000, while preventing a foreclosure costs about $3,300. Most of the expense ($50,000) is borne by the lender, which takes title to the home and must find a buyer.

Recently, I wrote about homeownership being under attack. Since that article, NAR and a broad range of industry partners have taken a multitude of actions to defend the American Dream. Housing has led the economy out of six of the last eight recessions. The weakness in housing is probably a significant factor in the lack of zest to what is being called an economic recovery. It just makes no sense to attack homeownership further. At a recent meeting, NAR President Ron Phipps made an excellent observation with regard to the mortgage finance system.

Senate Bill 458 was signed and passed on July 15, 2011 with the intent to provide relief for homeowners and prohibit a deficiency after a “successful short sale.” As I read through the words of the bill, my worst fears were drawn to the words, “agreed upon” and “agreed to accept.” Immediately on the following Monday, July 17, investors rescinded thousands of short-sale approval letters throughout California on short sales that had been approved or were about to close. One investor rescinded over 300 approval letters throughout California.

Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) recently released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing mortgage rates, fixed and adjustable, reaching all-time record lows providing further incentive for those homeowners looking to refinance.

By writing down all underwater mortgages to market value, the nation’s banks could pump $71 billion per year into the economy, create more than one million jobs annually and save families $6,500 per year on mortgage payments. That’s the bottom line in a new report by The New Bottom Line, a nationwide campaign representing 1,000 faith-based and community organizations seeking to hold Wall Street accountable and find solutions for struggling and middle-class families.

Nationwide housing starts edged down 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 604,000 units in July, according to figures released by the U.S. Commerce Department. The slight decline comes on the heels of significant gains in housing production in June, and was attributable to a moderate drop-off on the single-family side while production of multifamily units continued upward. "Although single-family housing production slid a few notches in July, the number was right in line with the second quarter average, so we view this report as an indication of relative stability," says Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes held unchanged at a low level of 15 on the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) for August, released recently. "Builders continue to confront the same major challenges they have seen over the past year, including competition from the large inventory of distressed homes on the market, inaccurate appraisal values, and issues with their buyers not being able to sell an existing home or qualify for favorable mortgage rates because of overly tight underwriting requirements," says Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev.

Existing-home sales declined in July from an upwardly revised June pace but are notably higher than a year ago, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Monthly gains in the Northeast and Midwest were offset by declines in the West and South.

In the second quarter of 2011, fixed-rate loans accounted for about 95 percent of refinance loans, based on the Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC) Quarterly Product Transition Report released recently. Refinancing borrowers preferred fixed-rate loans, regardless

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has only two months to spend $11.2 billion on its no-down payment rural development loan program, a record amount at this juncture in the federal fiscal year for the program that provides no-down payment mortgages

Overall satisfaction with primary mortgage servicers has declined notably from 2010, as frustration continues to mount among homeowners who originated their mortgages during the peak of the housing boom, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Primary Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study(SM) released recently. In addition, brand perceptions of mortgage servicing companies have deteriorated as a result of negative media coverage of reported abuses committed against homeowners by mortgage servicers.

Only 23 percent of renters living in single family homes—where more than half the nation’s renters live today—believe that renting makes more sense than buying a home. Yet difficulty getting financing, including bad credit, would keep most of them—53 percent—from buying a home if they were going to move. Seventy-three percent of single-family renters say it would be difficult for them to get a home mortgage, with 33 percent citing their credit history as the biggest obstacle to getting financing.