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Homeowners, who go past 2012 with no loan mod and have to short sale, could have a huge tax bill. Some short sales take a year. Homeowners who wait until 2012 may have a short sale close in 2013 and face a huge tax bill. Expert Home Solutions Inc. says “Be Concerned.” Here’s how the 2007 Act works. If your lender forgives any of your loan, it is reported to the IRS as ordinary income. That income could add over $100,000 to your taxable income. The 2007 Act forgives that tax.

The end of the spring-summer buying season is taking its toll on luxury properties. Median days on market for homes selling over $500,000 has fallen 40 percent since the peak of the season in May.

Increased lending to creditworthy homebuyers and more loan modifications and short sales are necessary to reduce the rising inventory of foreclosed homes and help stabilize and revitalize the housing industry and economy, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

The home price picture for this year is shaping up to be a little better than it looked in June, according to the September 2011 home price expectations survey of 111 leading housing economists and experts sponsored by MacroMarkets LLC. With just three months to go, the average prediction for the price decline this year from last year’s levels improved from a 3.52 percent price decline predicted by the experts in June to 2.53 percent in the latest survey. The survey is based upon the projected path of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index over the coming five years.

If the housing market were human, it would look like it just wrestled a few alligators after running an obstacle course through a snake pit. The market is beaten and bruised, but still emerging from the recession, which is why Greg Rand, a real estate veteran and author of Crash Boom! from Career Press, wants people to know about five new trends that could help them beat the housing blues. "The market is made up of buyers and sellers," Rand says. "It's just people who are trying to figure out how to buy low and sell high. The secret to making sure your real estate doesn't turn into a money pit is to watch the trends so you can predict where the prices will rise and where they won't."

You’re about to put an offer on a home, but you’re worried that prices will sink and you won’t get the best deal. You’re putting your home on the market and you want to get the most you can for it but you can’t wait forever to sell it. You’ve found a great deal on a foreclosure that looks like a great investment, but how will you know what will it be worth a year from now? Wouldn’t it be nice if you had more than a guesstimate to guide you as you make one of the most expensive decisions in your life?

With the Oct. 1 deadline rapidly approaching when the conforming loan limits for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will be lowered, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) recently called on Congress to move swiftly to extend the current loan limits to prevent further damage to the already fragile housing market and lackluster economy.

Homeowners are growing even more pessimistic about the potential short- and long-term values of their homes. ...

Yes, there is magic in positive thinking! In aviation, the word attitude means the angle at which the plane meets the wind, whether the wings are level with the horizon, and whether it is climbing or descending. The pilot who fails to take responsibility for the attitude of his aircraft is in serious trouble. And likewise, any person who has not taken charge of his or her own beliefs and attitudes runs a similar risk. The key to cultivating and maintaining a positive mental attitude is to take control of your thinking and avoid negative minded people. It's a challenging task to develop a calm, focused mind, but well worth the effort.

Bathroom renovations have become extremely popular in recent years. Many consumers choose to renovate their bathroom before any other room; not only is the bathroom a major focal point when it comes time to sell,

Household debt declined by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.6%, dragged lower by a 2.4% decline in mortgage debt as consumers took out fewer mortgages, paid off or had debts forgiven, the Federal Reserve reported in its voluminous flow-of-funds report. Consumer credit outside mortgages rose by 3.4%. Owners had 38.6% of the equity in their houses—unchanged from the first quarter but well below the 49.5% of 2007 as the housing market began to tumble. Household real estate was worth $16.18 trillion, a 0.4% dip from the first quarter but about 29% lower than the peak in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Thanks to the new partnership between the Building Codes Assistance Project (BCAP) and Consumers Union, user-friendly, interactive online guides and downloadable publications are helping homeowners and buyers save energy and money by teaching them the potential of building energy codes to address and improve home energy performance. “Everyone should have the right to an energy-efficient home that meets national standards,” says Cosimina Panetti, advocacy director of BCAP. “Energy codes—minimum requirements for efficient design and construction—offer a cost-effective way to reduce energy use and monthly bills, while also lowering carbon emissions. It’s a win-win-win.”

Millions of homeowners share a feeling of helplessness, not knowing where they stand with their bank and not understanding the foreclosure process. A new resource called the Foreclosure Defense Academy aims to rescue these homeowners from their information abyss, beginning with an educational webinar scheduled Sept. 22 – 24, when a national audience will learn how to navigate their own foreclosure situation even if they can’t afford legal representation.

REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT—The summer home sales season in the Washington, D.C. metro area market finished with the highest number of signed contracts for August in four years, according to housing market expert Jonathan Miller of Miller Samuel.

Realogy Corporation, a leading provider of real estate and relocation services, announced that Richard A. Smith, its president and CEO, has been called upon to testify before the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development