RISMEDIA, December 23, 2010—Existing-home sales got back on an upward path in November 2010, resuming a growth trend since bottoming in July, according to the National Association of REALTORS®. Existing-home sales, which are completed transactions that include single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, rose 5.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million in November from 4.43 million in October, but are 27.9% below the cyclical peak of 6.49 million in November 2009, which was the initial deadline for the first-time buyer tax credit.

RISMEDIA, December 22, 2010—Improvements in consumer spending and consumer confidence, increased demand for goods and services, and falling unemployment claims are all positive factors for a brighter outlook as we move into 2011, according to the December 2010 Economic

RISMEDIA, December 21, 2010—According to the American Heritage Dictionary, home is defined as “To the very center. To be guided to a target automatically.” In this challenging housing market, consumers still want a home as the centerpiece of a good life. Understanding their new frame of reference will allow you to help them make the dream come true.

RISMEDIA, December 20, 2010—(MCT)—Last spring, in the waning days of the first-time home buyer tax credit, Stephen Ploski made an offer on a foreclosed home in Farmington Hills, Mich.  He said the 1,400-square-foot home was livable, but needed serious updates. He was willing to do the work, and take the risk.  In exchange, he got a deal. The three-bedroom, one-bathroom home was his for $49,000. He lives in the home with his wife, Ashley and their daughter Lana.

RISMEDIA, December 17, 2010—RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for November 2010, which shows foreclosure filings—default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions—were reported on 262,339 U.S. properties in November, a 21% decrease from the previous month and a 14% decrease from November 2009. One in every 492 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month.

RISMEDIA, December 16, 2010—(MCT)—The Federal Reserve, saying that the economic recovery was not strong enough to bring down unemployment, vowed to stick with its controversial bond-buying program to spur growth and to hold short-term interest rates at near zero

RISMEDIA, December 15, 2010—(MCT)—The number of homeowners in the U.S. who owe more on their properties than what those homes are worth has declined steadily for most of 2010, according to Santa Ana, Calif. research firm CoreLogic. But the drop in properties with negative equity has more to do with troubled borrowers losing their homes to foreclosure than an increase in prices. About 10.8 million, or 22.5% of residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity positions at the end of the third quarter. That is down from 11 million, or 23%, in the second quarter.

RISMEDIA, December 13, 2010—Serving as leading indicators for the sector, two composite multifamily indices produced from NAHB's survey of multifamily builders and property managers showed improvement in the third quarter of 2010. The NAHB Multifamily Production Index (MPI) increased to a value of 35.6, up from the 26.6 level reported for the second quarter. This is the highest the MPI has been since 2007.

RISMEDIA, December 10, 2010—(MCT)—A funny thing happened to DeBary, Fla., resident Russ Vas Dais as he was about to buy a foreclosed home: He learned the bank selling him the house didn't actually own it. Fannie Mae had foreclosed on the property but, in an apparent

RISMEDIA, December 9, 2010—Trulia.com, a top site for home buyers, sellers and renters, and RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties released the latest results of an ongoing survey tracking home buyers' attitudes toward foreclosed homes. Results of the

RISMEDIA, December 8, 2010—(MCT)—This holiday season will be a happy one in the Bellwood, Ill., home that Rogelio Huerta and Maria Soto share with their two young sons. That's because the couple recently made the first mortgage payment on a permanent loan modification that will

RISMEDIA, December 7, 2010—(MCT)—David, Christy and Noah Swindlehurst are practicing new math at their Eden Prairie, Minn., town home—minimal addition, maximum subtraction. ...

RISMEDIA, December 4, 2010—(MCT)—Uneasiness is keeping some aging baby boomers in their current homes, even though that's not what they had in mind.  As REALTOR® Allan Domb, who sells condos in Philadelphia, sees it, "The decline in prices in the suburbs appears to be keeping a lot of aging boomers from selling and moving to something befitting their changed lifestyle."

RISMEDIA, December 3, 2010—RealtyTrac, a leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties released its Q3 2010 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report, which shows that foreclosure homes accounted for 25% of all U.S. residential sales in the third quarter of 2010 and that the average sales

RISMEDIA, December 2, 2010—We all need a little sun sometimes. Even though a sunroom isn’t the major consideration in buying a home, it’s often the cherry on top that encourages you to write the down payment check. What makes these rooms so irresistible is obvious: Read a book in a sunroom in the winter, and automatically it becomes summer again. Sunrooms range in scope and drama—the term can describe anything from a room with oversize windows, all the way up to glass-enclosed wonders.