The U.S. housing recovery is real and underway. The end-of-year numbers are in for the primary housing measures. Existing home sales were up 9 percent in 2012 from 2011; new home sales were up 20 percent in 2012 from a year earlier and housing starts were up 27 percent this past year compared to the previous year. Granted, these advances were based off historically low bases but we will take what we can get after six years mired in a housing recession. Perhaps a more telling statistic for the nation’s housing outlook is appreciating home values. Over the past six months, home prices increased between 4 and 9 percent, according to the major home price indexes.

By now, homeowners around the country have begrudgingly made that often pricey decision to turn on the furnace and crank up the dial. Winter is here and for some territories that means brisk to freezing temperatures,

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) named the winners in its inaugural Best of IBS Awards last week during the 2013 International Builders’ Show (IBS) in Las Vegas. Awards were given to exhibitors with a product or line that shows the best combination of design, functionality and innovation. Decided by a panel of independent judges made up of attending reporters and building professionals, the awards were given in five categories. The winners were: • Best Home Technology Product: Key Digital Systems- Compass Control ®

U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, who serves as President Obama’s Chairman of the Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force, and Federal Housing Finance Agency Acting Director Edward J. DeMarco recently announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac will extend expiring protections against foreclosure actions against homeowners whose properties were damaged or destroyed due to Hurricane Sandy. The additional 90-day foreclosure moratorium applies to homeowners with properties in states where the President issued major disaster declarations following Hurricane Sandy. The extended moratoriums announced today apply to the initiation of foreclosures and foreclosures already in process.

As part of a broad effort to strengthen the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund (MMI Fund), FHA Commissioner Carol Galante announced a series of changes

Hot foreclosure markets have come and gone over the past seven years but one thing seems to stay the same. The markets with the most and the cheapest foreclosures are still located in Florida. A judicial state that has had its share of controversy over robo-signing practices as well as high levels of negative equity and deep declines in home values since 2006, Florida markets still offer investors the best opportunities to buy and profit by either flipping or renting and holding renovated foreclosures.

Prudential Real Estate, an HSF Affiliates LLC company, has released its end-of-year Outlook Survey, which shows that Millennials and Generation X place a higher importance on and hold more favorable views toward homeownership than older generations. According to the national survey, confidence increased marginally among respondents with 73 percent at least somewhat confident in the recovering real estate market and property values as opposed to 72 percent in Q2.

The Appraisal Institute, the nation’s largest professional association of real estate appraisers, today cautioned homeowners and potential homebuyers that bad neighbors can significantly reduce nearby property values.

Homeowners looking for the most return on their investment when it comes to remodeling should consider exterior replacement projects. According to the 2013 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report, REALTORS® rated exterior projects among the most valuable home improvement projects. “REALTORS® know that curb appeal projects offer great bang for your buck, because a home’s exterior is the first thing potential buyers see,” says National Association of REALTORS® President Gary Thomas.

Pending home sales declined in December but have stayed above year-ago levels for 20 consecutive months, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. The Pending Home Sales Index,*a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, fell 4.3 percent to 101.7 in December from 106.3 in November but is 6.9 percent higher than December 2011 when it was 95.1. The data reflect contracts but not closings. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, says there is an uneven uptrend. "The supply limitation appears to be the main factor holding back contract signings in the past month. Still, contract activity has risen for 20 straight months on a year-over-year basis," he says.

First-time home buyers have long been an important part of the housing market. And that hasn’t changed today. According to the 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers from the National Association of REALTORS®,

(MCT)—If you’ve put off redoing that kitchen or adding a deck while waiting for the economy to perk up, welcome to the club. Like the rest of the housing market, home improvements and remodeling plunged during the recession as consumers hunkered down. But now that economic conditions are improving, the forecast for home fix-ups is looking up, too. “Future market indicators, which have been lagging a little bit, have jumped up,” said Paul Emrath, a research vice president with the National Association of Home Builders.

The trend of gradual but below-potential economic growth seen in 2012 is expected to carry over through 2013 and into 2014. This modest growth path combined with the real GDP growth rate during the recovery from 2009 to this point of 2.2 percent annualized give credence to claims that the recovery’s slow pace has become the “new normal,” according to Fannie Mae’s Economic & Strategic Research Group. The fiscal cliff and ongoing debt ceiling debate, which are likely to suppress consumer spending in the first half of 2013, continue to present potentially strong headwinds to meaningful growth activity. Overall, a 2 percent growth rate is forecasted for 2013, similar to the subdued pace of 2012. This is despite the fact that the housing sector, which has become a bright spot in the economy since home prices began to rebound in 2012, is expected to provide a rising contribution to GDP in 2013 and in coming years.

A new exhibit, Making Room: New Models for Housing New Yorkers, opened Tuesday at The Museum of the City of New York, and will run through September 2013. Organized in conjunction with Citizens Housing & Planning Council (CHPC), Making Room explores how the rise of New York’s single adult population, in addition to other shifting social, economic, and cultural demographics, is dramatically changing the landscape of urban living. The exhibit focuses on the innovative ways that architecture and design can affect the city’s

(MCT)—Sales of existing homes ticked down in December from the month before, while the total for 2012 hit the highest level in five years, according to data released Tuesday by the National Association of REALTORS®. The pace of sales fell 1 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.94 million, according to NAR. For all of 2012, existing-home sales hit 4.65 million, the highest level since 2007 and up 9.2 percent from 2011. “Record-low mortgage interest rates clearly are helping many home buyers, but tight inventory